State report on Dougherty: “Acceptance of wrongdoing and a pattern of incompetence that is a blight on the community.”
Update: I added the statement of Georgia school superintendent John Barge at 3:30.
Sit back and get ready to read another searing report on a Georgia school system gone bad. The state report on cheating in Dougherty County schools is online, and it is not pretty. Investigators secured confessions about cheating that was blatant and systematic.
And as with APS, investigators concluded that the district superintendent, Sally Whatley, and her senior staff should have known cheating was occurring. “In that duty, they failed,” the report states.
Here is what investigators said about New Jackson Heights Elementary in the report: Cheating was a way of life at this school. On unit tests, for example, teachers would mark the correct answers, and then return the marked-up tests to the students. The teachers would do this so that the students would see which answers were wrong and make corrections.
State school chief John Barge was quick to issue a statement:
Today’s report on cheating by some educators in the Dougherty County School System is another sad case of adults putting personal interests above those of their students. I am especially disappointed in education leaders who would threaten teachers’ jobs if students did not perform well on the CRCT. While this behavior is inexcusable, it does highlight the need to look at a different, more thorough accountability system such as Georgia’s new College and Career Ready Performance Index, which we have already submitted in the form of a waiver to the U.S. Dept. of Education seeking relief from the narrowly defined designation of success found in No Child Left Behind. Relying on a single test to determine a student’s and a school’s academic success is plagued with problems.
The Georgia Department of Education will work closely with the Dougherty County School System to provide support for students who were negatively impacted by the actions of adults. We will also look into whether or not any schools and educators undeservedly received financial reward for these artificial CRCT results.”
As was the case with the Atlanta Public Schools investigation findings, the vast majority of the educators in Dougherty County and throughout the state are ethically sound and work diligently with the best interests of their students in mind. I’m committed to working with our districts to ensure our students are not robbed of a quality and meaningful education.
Here is a sample from volume 1 of the two-volume report:
The disgraceful situation we found in the Dougherty County School System (DCSS) is a tragedy, sadly illustrated by a comment made by a teacher who said that her fifth grade students could not read, yet did well on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT).
This incredible statement from a teacher in a school where the principal flatly refused to cooperate with our investigation is indicative of what we found in many of the schools we visited.
To our amazement, this top-level administrator would not even answer questions about how she mishandled her duties as the person who is most responsible, at that school, for overseeing all testing activity.
Another school principal, whose salary was over $90,000 per year, allowed her family to falsely claim that they were eligible for a federally-funded free lunch each school day, even though official guidelines required the annual income to be no more than $24,089.
Yet another principal, with regard to our interviews, told a teacher: “Don’t you tell them anything, you hear?”
Notwithstanding these examples of misconduct, there are skilled, dedicated and well-meaning educators in this school system. But their work is often overshadowed by an acceptance of wrongdoing and a pattern of incompetence that is a blight on the community that will feel its effects for generations to come. This is the Dougherty County School System.
Hundreds of school children were harmed by extensive cheating in the Dougherty County School System. In 11 schools, 18 educators admitted to cheating. We found cheating on the 2009 CRCT in all of the schools we examined. A total of 49 educators were involved in some form of misconduct or failure to perform their duty with regard to this test.
While we did not find that Superintendent Sally Whatley or her senior staff knew that crimes or other misconduct were occurring, they should have known and were ultimately responsible for accurately testing and assessing students in this system. In that duty, they failed. The 2009 erasure analysis, and other evidence, suggests that there were far more educators involved in cheating, but a fair analysis of the facts did not allow us to sufficiently establish the identity of every participant.
The statistics, and the individual student data, leave little room for any other reasonable explanation, save for cheating. For example, the percentage of flagged classrooms for DCSS is ten times higher than the state average.
Unlike our investigation of criminal misconduct in the Atlanta Public Schools, officials with Dougherty County Schools (and their agents) provided, in a timely and professional manner, access to all personnel and needed documents.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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134 comments Add your comment
To Bewildered from Good Mother
December 21st, 2011
2:24 pm
Thank you for offering a solution to the reading problem. I really appreciate that you are thinking of positive ways to solve a problem. GM
Mountain Man's Dumb Logic from Good Mother
December 21st, 2011
2:28 pm
Mountain Man, sheesh, what cave in Montana do you live in ?
You say “Mountain Man
December 21st, 2011
7:52 am
I saw a cartoon that said it all – in the 50’s you see the child with a “F” on a report card – the parent is screaming at the child for not making better grades. Cut to 2011, the parent is screaming at the TEACHER for her child not making better grades. It all comes down to the STUDENTS, folks, and their willingness to BE PRESENT (see truancy blog), and WORK at learning.”
Mountain Man, get out of your cave and breathe some fresh air and sunshine. Take a walk into the 20th century at least.
Screaming solves nothing. Screaming at teachers or kids does no good. No one solves anything by screaming.
The fact that you would even suggest something like that says a lot about you as well as your other cave man like comments.
To Janet from Good Mother
December 21st, 2011
2:33 pm
Janet, you say “I get that the education of the parents themselves are probably lacking, but still, I really think even the most basic skilled of parents would know something isn’t right after 5 years. A parent should notice something like that… one who cares anyway. ”
Janet, you are making an assumption that parents did not know their fifth grader could not read. No one said that. No one implied that the parents didn’t know. The parents may have known and may be dealing with the situation they best know how.
Remember what ASSUME stands for — When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME.
This is particularly true when you assign blame to someone – or groups as big as “parents.”
Parents want the best for their children. We live and breathe for our children. We sacrifice ourselves for our children. I don’t know any parents who aren’t keenly aware of their child’s educational success or failures.
Beverly Fraud
December 21st, 2011
2:49 pm
Today’s MOST uninformed, WILLFULLY ignorant quote, from one Beverly bores…
“Pretending there are no dishonest or incompetent teachers may play on this blog where so many teachers come to whine, but anyone with a child in public schools knows the truth.”
@Beverly bores, please point to a SINGLE statement I have made that said there were “no dishonest or incompetent teachers”
On the contrary, I have made the point numerous times, that once you build TRUST among teachers that evaluation instruments won’t be used in a RETALIATORY manner, and once you improve teaching CONDITIONS, you’ll (hopefully) start to see teachers take a more vocal role in removing the DEADWEIGHT because it will be done in a fair and equitable manner.
Again, point to a SINGLE instance where I have said there are no incompetent or dishonest teachers.
Just as I thought…therefore, you are summarily DISMISSED.
irisheyes
December 21st, 2011
2:52 pm
“Screaming solves nothing. Screaming at teachers or kids does no good. No one solves anything by screaming.”
But it does. When parents come in screaming to administrators about how a teacher has given their child an “unfair” grade, the grade gets changed. Trust me. It’s happened to me.
To Already Sheared Good Mother
December 21st, 2011
3:05 pm
Already Sheared lies and says to us “Teachers (and their careers) trapped in the clutches of powerful, unethical, unprofessional administrators is the disease.”
AS, your lies are transparent. Teachers are not trapped. No one held a gun to their head and made them cheat, lie and steal.
Dishonety is not a disease. It’s a crime.
Beverly Fraud
December 21st, 2011
3:10 pm
“But it does. When parents come in screaming to administrators about how a teacher has given their child an “unfair” grade, the grade gets changed. Trust me. It’s happened to me”
Funny irisheyes, how MISERABLY that fails when momma tries to scream to a landlord, a mortgage holder…or a judge.
You would think THAT would be the lesson parts want to impart, and not “I have no consequences for my actions, because my momma well raise h3ll on my behalf”
adam
December 21st, 2011
3:28 pm
gov nathan dean’s third cousin was a school teacher for two years. therefore, nathan dean is the education governor
adam
December 21st, 2011
3:30 pm
Newt Gingrinch’s fourth cousin was a school teacher for three years in the 1930s. therefore,newt is the education expert and sympathiser
Beverly Fraud
December 21st, 2011
4:03 pm
I’m curious Good Mother, would you just, at the drop of a hat, walk away from the job you spent years invested in, (say for example the year before you became vested) the very job that gives you the FINANCIAL FOUNDATION to be a “Good Mother”?
Beverly Fraud
December 21st, 2011
4:04 pm
I’m not saying these teachers SHOULD have caved in to the pressure, I’m suggesting you don’t disrespect their situation by implying they could just change careers as easily as one changes socks.
Beverly Fraud
December 21st, 2011
4:06 pm
The more POSITIVE, SOLUTION ORIENTED response Good Mother, would be to advocate for policies that would curb administrative RETALIATION, not blithely dismiss their concerns.
AlreadySheared
December 21st, 2011
4:45 pm
@Bev – do not feed the troll. I previously declined to respond to GM’s shrill ad hominem attack and oblivious criticism of my post for just that reason.
Don't Feed the Good Mother Troll
December 21st, 2011
7:09 pm
Good mother is in need of attention that she does not get at home. Poor us!
bootney farnsworth
December 21st, 2011
7:53 pm
I’ve said this before, and it merits repeating here:
want to see the system work with corportate ruthlessness? object to something being done wrong (morally, not functionally incorrectly) or inefficently.
the machine will destroy honest people in the way you wish they’d teach
vigorously, energetically, and without hesitation
Beverly Fraud
December 22nd, 2011
5:56 am
the machine will destroy honest people in the way you wish they’d teach
vigorously, energetically, and without hesitation
But your wrong Bootney. Maureen has stated words to the effect that she has seen few if any instances of retaliation, and that it is by no means a widespread problem, as you claim it is.
If I’m wrong, perhaps someone will show me a quote that proves otherwise
Beverly Fraud
December 22nd, 2011
5:57 am
YOU’RE wrong that is (Good thing about posting at 6:00am-you catch your mistakes before someone else does LOL)
ScienceTeacher671
December 22nd, 2011
7:17 am
Have said before and will say again: The most pervasive and insidious cheating in Georgia comes from the very top with the scoring of these state tests by the GaDOE.
When an 8th grade student who has the reading and math skills of a 4th grader can be pronounced “proficient” by the state, and when a high school student can pass his/her final exam (EOCT) by getting fewer than half of the questions correct, is that not cheating?
It gives students, parents, and in some cases, teachers, a totally inappropriate picture of the skills and abilities of those students.
Is it any wonder that the students need remedial coursework in college?
ScienceTeacher671
December 22nd, 2011
7:18 am
And I think the earlier suggestion of an investigative story about the RTI (Response to Intervention) process in Georgia is a very good one.
SOS From Albany
December 22nd, 2011
8:30 am
Maureen – Can you do a story about the process involved for the Governor to remove an entire board?
Proud Teacher
December 22nd, 2011
9:55 am
Merit pay is only going to make this situation worse. Teachers should not have to continually work under some threat from some faceless entity and be forced to ignore the child and please his dot on a purposeless graph. Everyone needs to remember that education is all about the children. What happened to that?
another teacher
December 22nd, 2011
1:02 pm
I feel for the special education teachers. It really is a lack of support for I.E.P and special accomodations and what do you do once you know that cheating is actually taking place? The other special education teacher resigned. Very few of us, except me, would take that drastic action in this bad economy. You ever heard of Santa Claus?
To Beverly Fraud from Good Mother
December 22nd, 2011
3:48 pm
Beverly, you ask “I’m curious Good Mother, would you just, at the drop of a hat, walk away from the job you spent years invested in, (say for example the year before you became vested) the very job that gives you the FINANCIAL FOUNDATION to be a “Good Mother”?”
I would and I have. I refused to lie on a report, I’ve refused to lie to a client. I’ve had numerous occassions where I was asked to lie and cheat and to cover up someone else’s stealing. I didn’t.
The fact is Beverly Fraud, you want to justify the lies and cheating of others because you yourself have lied and cheated.
It’s as plain as the name of your monniker — Fraud.
Top School
December 22nd, 2011
11:34 pm
I pass to @ Beverly Fraud …since some think @Beverly Fraud , @Dr. Trotter and @Top School are ALL the same person…
@Beverly…I think you get it…and since Maureen is not censoring your posts…keep on posting.
@ Dr. Trotter posts his connections with MACE and ongoing stories of ” I told you so” …And as Top School … I said so…told you so…documented it…said it for the last 10+ years and think the whining is a waste of time.
@ Beverly bores me …
Beverly was seen in a disco in HAWAII dancing the blues away …trying to forget the past year…
see Beverly DANCING at:
http://xmas.coke.com/v/en_EN/#86873661c2660c8d4ccc703a32954b1e62c7a096
Beverly Fraud
December 23rd, 2011
5:27 am
Credibility defying post of the day, by Good Mother
Beverly, you ask “I’m curious Good Mother, would you just, at the drop of a hat, walk away from the job you spent years invested in, (say for example the year before you became vested) the very job that gives you the FINANCIAL FOUNDATION to be a “Good Mother”?”
I would and I have.
Of course you have Good Mother. OF COURSE you have. And we ALL believe you.
“The fact is Beverly Fraud, you want to justify the lies and cheating of others because you yourself have lied and cheated.”
On the contrary Good Mother, I’m VERY proud of the work I have done with Enron, Fannie Mae, and Bernie Madoff.
Tonya C.
December 23rd, 2011
8:25 am
The fact is, this culture of cheating was created of the wreck that is NCLB. It is was anyone with a decent IQ would call unintended consequences. I have worked in a metro Atlanta school system HR department and I can tell you that many have attempted to come forward and were silenced by these school systems. Make an example out of a few and the message will be loud and clear for the masses.
In addition, even if these teachers stood up in masse, would the public have believed them when the scores were great? Would they have really wanted to listen? There is no union here, and the retaliatory nature of the education field is astounding. Unless they had concrete evidence (and some of them have)would anyone have really paid attention? I don’t know…
AlreadySheared
December 23rd, 2011
8:30 am
“… the retaliatory nature of the education field is astounding” – truer words were never written.
bootney farnsworth
December 23rd, 2011
9:17 am
@ Beverley Fraud
when Maureen becomes a career educator, then she can comment with authority on the intimadation and abuse of non political/do the right
thing employees. in well over 20 years in education, I’ve lost count of the amount of people I’ve seen railroaded and destroyed.
she has the right to be wrong, and in this case, is.
the reasons I can’t give any specific examples are:
1) a large amount are tied up in the system and so can’t be publically commented on
2) I don’t have the right to out somebody’s professional issues they are trying to resolve via channels
3) I already have people where I work determined to figure out who I am so I can be dealt with. I’m not gonna help them
Tonya C.
December 23rd, 2011
10:10 am
Bootney:
And when you say destroyed, please stress that you mean Hiroshima-style destruction. They will wipe out all that is good about a teacher’s professional name and make it IMPOSSIBLE to obtain employment elsewhere. Your teaching certificate will become no more valuable than toilet paper. After working where I did, I vowed to never have a government job again, and ESPECIALLY in a school system.
To Beverly Fraud from Good Mother
December 23rd, 2011
11:33 am
Bev Fraud, you crack me up.
I loved your post. Thanks for the laugh.
“On the contrary Good Mother, I’m VERY proud of the work I have done with Enron, Fannie Mae, and Bernie Madoff.”
…and don’t forget your outstanding work at Halliburton
Don't Feed the Good Mother Troll
December 23rd, 2011
12:51 pm
Hey, Beverly Fraud– GM’s post to you at 3:48 pm is exactly the same as one he/she posted months ago to another blogger, “”APS Teacher–Cheater & Proud of It.” He/she just changed the name for the offending “monniker” [sic] to “Fraud.”
There are a lot of GM repeated posts….must have folders of them to use here on his/her computer.
Digger
December 23rd, 2011
11:31 pm
Great work, Don’t Feed. We all know gm is multiple personality. Way to document.
Mac
December 24th, 2011
1:24 pm
AlreadySheared
December 23rd, 2011
8:30 am
“… the retaliatory nature of the education field is astounding” – truer words were never written.
So so true!
Why aren’t people more concerned about the impact on kids from CRCT cheating scandal? | Get Schooled
December 27th, 2011
11:50 am
[...] As we discussed here six days ago, state investigators issued a scathing report on cheating in Dougherty County schools, writing that there was “an acceptance of wrongdoing and a pattern of incompetence that is a blight on the community that will feel its effects for generations to come. This is the Dougherty County School System. Hundreds of school children were harmed by extensive cheating in the Dougherty County School System. In 11 schools, 18 educators admitted to cheating. We found cheating on the 2009 CRCT in all of the schools we examined. A total of 49 educators were involved in some form of misconduct or failure to perform their duty with regard to this test. [...]