Update: Washington DC Erasure Investigation

Facts have not emerged on the D.C.'s Inspector General regarding the erasures detected on standardized tests at nearly half of D.C.'s schools, but the investigation continues.
However, the USA Today, which initially reported the serious irregularities, reports the resignation of Wayne Ryan. No explanation for the resignation is available. Ryan was promoted to instructional superintendent last year. Previously, he was principal of Noyes Educational Campus from 2001-2010. Standardized test scores were high at the school; however, nearly 3/4 of Noyes classes were flagged for erasures from 2008-2010.

"....the school had been touted by former chancellor Michelle Rhee as a model of school reform. He was lauded for dramatic increases in test scores, which earned the school a federal Blue Ribbon award in 2009.

The school's staff won thousands of dollars in bonuses because of the improvement.

Ryan and the school were the centerpiece of the school system's staff recruitment ads in 2008 and 2009."

Read more....

UPDATE: Reporting on continuing Atlanta investigations
A staff member of Internal Investigations claims to have been ordered by the Superintend to destroy evidence.

Lawyers for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained a copy of the letter and related documents, which came to light in a criminal investigation of cheating by teachers and school administrators on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test. A team of special investigators, appointed last August when state officials found the district’s own inquiry inadequate, is expected to report its findings to Gov. Nathan Deal this month, which could result in prosecutions of district officials. The investigators declined to comment Tuesday.

Read more....

Florida Test Results: You Cheated, You Lied

Jaime Escalante came to mind today. Remember the movie Stand and Deliver, the story of the Los Angeles teacher, who taught AP Calculus to kids from a not so good Los Angeles neighborhood? He helped them pass the AP exam, but the outstanding results were called into question. The kids took the test again, and passed. The movie is based on a true story.

Several Florida school districts woke up to bad news this morning. Scathing Purple Musings reports that 100 students at Volusia and Flagler schools are being reviewed for possible cheating.

After a review using statistical analyses conducted by the Caveon Test Security, 14 counties have been contacted by the Florida Department of Education to investigate for cheating due to "unusual high levels of erasures." The districts are: Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Duval, Flagler, Gadsden, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lee, Leon, Manatee, Orange, Polk, and Seminole.

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2011/06/florida_department_of_education_broward_palm_beach_schools.php
UPDATE: Go here to keep on top of this fast-moving story.

No love today for FCAT or End-of-Course tests it seems: