The DeKalb County School System announced today actions to address concerns raised during its internal investigation of the administration of the April 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT).
Based on the results of the investigation to date and after receiving feedback from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), the School System has taken the following actions to ensure that the CRCT process is accurate and represents the progress of students:
- Twenty-nine current and former school system employees have been referred to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission based on concerns that they may have been engaged in inappropriate conduct during the administration of the 2009 CRCT.
- Twenty-four school system employees, including principals, assistant principals and teachers, have been reassigned to duties outside of the schools, pending review of their teaching certificates from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. One employee who is not currently certified by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission will also be removed from currently assigned duties.
- For students who may have been affected by irregular testing administration, individual learning support plans are being put in place for those students identified as needing assistance to improve their CRCT performance. Parents of those students have also been notified.
- The system, as it did in 2010, will continue to monitor the CRCT administration.
The DeKalb County School System’s investigation was initiated to address the results of an analysis conducted at the direction of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement of erasures on CRCT answer sheets. The GOSA analysis showed that in some classrooms statewide, including some in DeKalb Schools, there were an unusually high number of wrong answers changed to right. The school system conducted an extensive investigation, including interviews, a review of the erasure audit data, an analysis of student performance comparatives, and consideration of other data and information. The school system’s investigation is ongoing.
The school system’s investigation, and the report of its findings to GOSA in August, identified potential testing irregularities at nine schools. GOSA has agreed with the majority of the findings in the school system’s report, as well as the school system’s responses announced today.
“We appreciate the state’s support in our actions to resolve this serious investigation,” said Thomas Bowen, Chairman of the DeKalb County Board of Education. “We have made all of our decisions in responding to these irregularities based on what’s best for the students, and we will continue
to do so. The DeKalb County Board of Education is committed to ensuring that we have an ethical, responsible and effective school system for our children.”
Ramona H. Tyson
Interim Superintendent
1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
678-676-0010 office
678-676-0709 fax
tysonr@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
===
Thank you Ramona Tyson and the Board of Education!
222 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 222 of 222@feb 3 8:57am
Precisely!
We never know what people will and will not do. My mother never thought her sister would embezzle money from a bank, but it happened. When one is faced with stress and there are ample opportunities to make yourself, your staff, your school appear better many will take that chance. We do not ever really know what someone will/will not do by every day interactions. It is not until faced with a moral issue that we see someone's true colors.
The tests in question did not erase themselves and someone either teacher, ap, principal had to help in the irregularities that were found. There irregularities are not normal and there were way to many of them to be a fluke.
Our students were the one cheated in this entire scandal.
@anonymous January 28 9:40pm
If the teacher has 3 years or less they are not entitled to a formal hearing. They are released. And if that is untrue please quote the statue which reflects it so that I can pursue my options.
fat is a relative condition it can change at anytime but your ignorance is perpetual.
Cheating is just not erasing answers on a test.
Channel 2 Action News has learned that a DeKalb County principal resigned after admitting she tried to improve her school’s CRCT scores by unenrolling some students.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Richard Belcher learned that the incident took place as Rock Chapel Elementary in Lithonia prepared for last year's CRCT exams.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/26734779/detail.html
I have the same question about folding the paper like a hotdog. This is not geometry. What in the world do you mean and what is the excercise supposed to accomplish?
I certainly hope that we are teaching better critical thinking skills than paper hotdogs.
the purspose in folding the paper like a hot dog is to prepare the paper for two column notes. Folding the paper like a hot dog is folding it from left to right. Folding the paper like a hamburger is folding it from top to bottom. It is just a saying used so the students know which shape the paper should resemble.
The "infractions" (students unenrolled) were discovered on May 4, 2009. And the principal was allowed to resign June 30th. Gee, looks like two months of pay after the "crime" was uncovered. All school data collected under this principal's watch should now be suspect!
It would be difficult to believe this was a one time, isolated incident.
was anyone ever able to confirm if Beasley was pulling any of the same unenroll/re-enroll stunts in Birmingham (that was what I had heard/read but hadn't been able to confirm)....
@anon 9:07. Oh my goodness. Please feel free to return to your union position in Florida. I am mortified that you teach in our school system.
I am sorry if we asked you to "dummify" your curriculum.
Parent and taxpayer.
anon 9:21 -- if you couple anon. 9:07 with Dr. Blackwood's essay on his experiences in SWDk and other stories about teachers who have been teaching on provisional certification, who aren't licensed; and then you factor in the fact that Georgia is in the bottom few spots nationally and that the CRCT, for which "passing" is only 50% correct (or less) is just on the Georgia curriculum and is a state-curruculum based test, you need to give these comments their due ... I think we should be paying attention. I (a parent who has been in the system for over a decade) think that there are people "calling the shots" with much less expereince than "those on the ground" and actually in the classroomm and these comments -- the ones from Florida and Pennsylvania and California -- truly reveal why it is Georgia is in the bottom of the pile nationally, while America is towards the bottom of the industrialized world. The truth is in these comments. Supervisors are telling teachers to fold paper like hotdogs and writing pdps for not doing so and making them use multiple choice tests so the kids are ready for all the tests they have to take -- no critical thinking to take place. Ergo, kids are bored to tears as well. Ergo, behavior problems too. Then they do away with art and music, because we must focus on reading and math so we can have the kids ready for the almighty crct so they can take the test... do you see what we're doing ... the teachers don't seem to have any say so.. they get directives from Beasley, they get pacing charts that they have to follow -- whether they make sense or not... they have no control over who is in their classrooms.. they can't send a kid back who is a grade or two or three behind... but they have no control over how to teach the material either and then they're penalized when the kids aren't at grade level come crct time. Did I mention the inability to discipline? The inability to give zeros? Is it any wonder we've dug such a hole? Most of this doesn't exist in private school because they can control almost all of these variables from curriculum through discipline and the kids are more "grouped" in classes (and I'm not just talking about the Paces and Westminsters... there's the Speech School and St. Francis focussing on other issues and doing a splendid job with their students).
ok, so I asked my son (in college now) and he explained "hotdog" style and "hamburger" style (first I'd heard of "hamburger") but he said in his mind he always had to translate it to "vertical" and "horizontal" before he could actually fold his paper. I told him that back in the "old" days, when I was in school, our teachers simply said "fold your paper vertically" - and somehow we all managed to do it right!
Hotdog and hamburger style!?!? OMG... I can't stop laughing - this really tickled me. And to think a poor teacher got in trouble over this?!?! What on earth? Am I dreaming?
IMPORTANT message from Medlock PTA (this came in our email box)
In Wednesday's edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Metro section featured a front page story titled "Dekalb Names 12 Schools With CRCT Staff Changes". In this article, Medlock Elementary is mentioned as a school affected by these changes. However, due to the ambiguity of the circumstances - that the names of the staff members have not been released, only affected schools - it appears that Medlock is being investigated for misdeeds surrounding the 2009 CRCT.
In fact, the staff member that has been temporarily removed from Medlock came to our school after the 2009 CRCT, so any concerns surrounding this school employee do not involve their time at Medlock, but their tenure at their previous school. Our school is NOT a school of concern in the CRCT investigation.
To draw a metaphor, it's similar to a Red Sox player being traded to the Braves, and then they fall under suspicion for using steroids during their years with the Red Sox. Yet, the headline reads "Braves Slugger Suspected of Steroid Use". While true, it's misleading, and it gives a black eye to the wrong team.
Our concern here is two-fold. Medlock is not being investigated, yet our name is being placed amongst a list of schools that are. Secondly, our school is on the current DCSS list of schools to be closed at the end of the 2010-11 school year. We certainly don't need any unwarranted bad press around our school's reputation at a time we are fighting so passionately to save our school.
This isn't an anti-media rant, but simply an effort to make sure the true circumstances surrounding this matter are made public. Thank you for allowing us to use this forum to do so.
Gratefully,
Tommy Housworth
Medlock PTA Co-President
Yes the Medlock PTA Co-President is correct. Anna Thomas, and Assistant Principal, who was transferred to Medlock from one of the other schools on the list is the person who was removed from Medlock. It is DeKalb's fault that the media is misinformed due to not releasing the names. I think the same thing happened at Oak View, which was listed due to a current teacher, who transferred from one of the schools in question. DeKalb is trying to cover up the names of the individuals, but most of us know who they are.
Yes, presenting the information only by school name is grossly unfair and highly damaging. Medlock is fighting to stay open - it's a wonderful school - and should not have to endure a harsh public mark like this.
@ANONYMOUS FEB 3 9:21PM
Parent and Taxpayer
You should be more concerned that in the fifty states Georgia's educational system is ranked 38th and that ranking was about 3 years ago. That having been said what are you paying your taxes for; a substandard education for your children. As a parent you should have some say in the quality of education your child receives. If what your child is getting you feel is appropriate or the best they can get, then dwell in your own ignorance, if you don't know then try to explore the alternatives to what could enhance your child's knowledge base and make them more viable in the Global Economy instead of your immediate environment. I came from a state that when they ask you to think outside of the box they meant just that. I also come from a state which has 5 levels of achievement on the state standardized test and the students must write to explain their rationale for choosing the answers they bubble. That based on Bloom's Taxonomy is called Higher Level Thinking in other words critical thinking. A multiple choice assessment does not promote critical thinking. Do your research before responding based on your feelings, know what the educational trends are and know what research is saying in the educational spectrum. You are entitled to your opinion. I will end by saying my daughter scores on level three of the CRCT and I don't see that as an outstanding achievement because if she was in Florida her scores would exceed that and Georgia doesn't have a gauge to adequately assess her.
@ANONYMOUS FEB 3 9:21PM
Parent and Taxpayer
Furthermore, when my neices came to Georgia from Florida due to the education they received in Florida once they took the Georgia Assessments because their skills in critical thinking were so fine tuned they scored in the high achieving range and were placed in AP classes. AP classes are for advanced students. I was taught to teach on a higher level a standard which is not reflected in the Georgia curriculum but like most southerners you take constructive critism as an insult instead of having an open mind and always seeking improvements at every level. You should also be concerned that the individuals nurturing, cultivating and teaching your children are treated unfairly, unjustly and sacrificially in your state, in other words expendable. There is no clear defined methods in some schools, there is no plan of action, Dekalb has sampled policies and procedures and teaching methods from so many different school systems even there administrators are unclear as to how any thing should progress. And as far as me going back to my state; I did not ask your permission to enter this state and I do not require your admonishment to exit.
@ANONYMOUS FEB 3 9:21PM
Parent and Taxpayer
Perfect example: Math Expressions is the main basal in Dekalb County Schools for math. Why is this flawed? 1. the students do not have a textbook in which to reference they only have workbooks and the teachers have to spend time creating methods to introduce the objectives in an appropriate manner which will assist the students in internalizing the concepts so that they can successfully complete the workbook activities. ERGO teachers are at the schools many days till closing. 2. Math Expressions is not aligned with GPS Georgia Performance Standards. Why is this an oxymoron? Because Dekalb has Math Georgia which is aligned with the GPS but is used as a resource and not the main basal. Why is Johnny not succeeding? HMMMMMMMMMM! go figure. Why are math scores in Dekalb a critical issue. I wonder!
@ANONYMOUS FEB 3 9:21PM
Parent and Taxpayer
Oh I forgot to add, Elementary Teacher's work day ends at 3:15 so any time clocked in after those hours they are not being paid for them. Some schools close as late as 8pm. Teachers are given a job to complete with limited resources and very little administrative support but they are held to task if the achievement level does not progress or if it decreases. When do these people have time to spend with their families; i. e. Husbands, wives, children........the dedication of educators, true educators far exceeds the realm of comprehension for many non-educators. We are in the trenches trying to burrow tunnels which link knowledge and understanding for the world will someone fall through the cracks they sure will if fail safes are not in place to catch them. Parent participation is low and hard to attain. The education of any child is a consorted effort between Home, School and Community I think many have loss that concept.
Things have been quiet about the 29 people that are being "investigated" by the smart folks down at Internal Affairs who, we all know, couldn't investigate their way out of a paper bag.
Now, they can however pick 29 innocent people to frame while they are protecting some kind of evil out there. There always a reason behind every action ... and it doesn't have to make sense.
I haven't heard anything in a while about this ... does anyone in blog land know anything? I wonder how the 29 people are feeling about now, especially the innocent ones. I wonder if anyone cares.
I wonder if SACS pays attention, or GaDOE pays attention, or the Governor of GA pays attention to the DCSS Leaders and how they conduct themselves. Does anyone, even these inept leaders, really believe Robert Tucker and Ronald Ramsey can do an effective job at getting to the bottom of the CRCT story? I mean really.
Please POST INFO.
The legislature is in active session so Ron Ramsey is tied up at the moment...
@ 9:47
Math Expressions has no text book. The first year DeKalb adopted it as part of the math curriculum, it did not even purchase the workbook for the program, so teachers were making huge amounts of photocopies for their students. DCSS does buy the workbooks now. Math Expressions is a wonderful curriculum and aligns to the NCTM standards. The biggest problem is that the teachers of DCSS were not properly trained on how to implement Math Expressions. We were trained by teachers in our building who were trained by trainers, who were trained by trainers. The teachers in my school had 2 hours to teach us what they had learned in 2 days, and they weren't really sure of what they had learned in the two days.
The biggest difference between Math Georgia and Math Expressions, is Math Georgia is a traditional math text book. Math Expressions requires teachers to have a deep understanding of the math concepts that they are teaching, so that they can convey these concepts to the children. Unfortunately most teachers don't like Math Expressions, because it requires so much of the teachers. It's also not used correctly, as Math Expressions is a program that builds upon itself and isn't meant to be skipped around in.
Neither program fully covers the Georgia State Math standards, which is why both programs were purchased, or so we have been told.
Not sure why the district spent money on the two text books. Someone's relative must have made out really well that year on commissions and then again on the commissions from the yearly workbook purchases.
Math Georgia is a fine curriculum, it's just traditional math, no deep thinking or deep learning, and little actual use in problem solving.
When I taught Math Expressions in another state. My training was a week long. We were taught how to understand the teacher's manuals and how to present lessons to our children. We had to prepare lessons and teach our co-workers in front of the trainers sent by the text book company. Yes, this cost a great deal of money, but the outcome was awesome and our students learned and understood math in deep, thought provoking way. In the state where I come from, our students have to write out how they solve a math problem and explain why they did what they did for the state test. Expressions, helped tremendously with this deep thinking and understanding.
Then there are the Benchmarks that teachers are to administer that do not coincide with the lessons that the district wants the teachers to teach. The benchmarks are riddled with mistakes, poorly written, and many questions do not cover material taught.
There are also the kids who are sent on each year, not being able to add without using their fingers, don't have a number sense or understand place value, have difficulty subtracting, and performing other simple math work that should have been mastered the year before.
You see the reason math in elementary school is so abysmal, is because many layers. It's not about Math Expressions vs. Math Georgia. A student without a deep understanding of numbers, place value, and basic math operations cannot perform the deep, thought provoking math questions that the CRCT is all about. We also have teachers who struggle with these same concepts trying to teach struggling Johnny, so that the school can make AYP.
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