GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

How can anyone have ANY faith in these graduation rates?   I work in one of the P.L.A. schools and our graduation rate has “miraculously” improved during the past two years or so… of course that has more to do with teachers being pressured relentlessly to pass all their students and even when they actually do fail a class, there was independent study, then credit recovery, now you have apex, etc.  You don’t even have to show up to pass classes, as long as you’re alive and breathing you will graduate on time in NYC. 

Will be interesting to see how “distributuve scoring,” regents exam papers being graded by other schools, impacts the regents pass rates … this year some schools continued to grade in-house while others were matched up … decision made by superintendent. Next year all papers will be graded elsewhere.

Twisting teachers’ arms to inflate course grades is not new in city high schools. But you can bet your CAR that this form of cheating is spreading. And worse, it is semi-official DOE policy—just like scrubbing Regents exams which both the DOE and the UFT encouraged for years by looking the other way. If not for the Wall Street Journal’s February 10, 2011 exposé of Regents tampering (“Students’ Regents Test Scores Bulge at 65,” February 2, 2011),
principals and teachers would still be committing Regents crimes without fear of detection. Surely, the drop in 2011’s grad rates can be traced to greater test security which will be even tighter when extramural grading kicks in.
 
The following emails were sent to me ten years ago by Cobble Hill Assistant Principal Theresa Capra. She resigned from the DOE in disgrace in the wake of my Regents tampering allegations that were substantiated by OSI. But Chancellor Klein corruptly restored her to the eligibility list after Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon fraudulently reported that there was not enough evidence. (BTW, SCI never audited the disputed exams.) Capra’s emails pull back the curtain on the sad reality of mayoral control:
 
 
4/29/02
I understand that our students are not working enough and their grades are a reflection of this, however, you cannot fail 90% of the class. IF students are not responding to homework, do not base most of the grade on assignments. … For the next marking period, try to raise the grades so that a good majority have the opportunity to pass. … Just so you know, out of all the teachers you have one of the lowest passing percentages.
 

4/29/02
I know that this is a true problem, not just for us, but across the city. In other more competitive schools teachers face different problems: lawsuits from parents, elaborate cheating rings, higher suicide attempts and depression, unfriendly competition among staff. Well the bottom line is you cannot fail 90% of any class—even if you feel that they deserve it. You must try to bring up their grades….
 
 
6/9/02
Well, try not to fail an overwhelming majority. Use your judgment. Make some phone calls this week to let parents know it’s a last chance shot. Keep a record of your phone calls. The bottom line is you can’t fail everyone, except for a couple. You have to evaluate each kid and try to pass a fair amount. Keep me posted.
 

6/15/02
we must make sure that we stay on top of this from the beginning next year. Passing just a tiny percent of your students will look really bad. Even if you feel that they did not meet the standards, just to let you know it may be the lowest rate in the school.

Philip, fyi:

http://tinyurl.com/83dksx6 

“Lies, damned lies, and statistics”: a numbers-oriented, bean-counting, fear-based, shame-based, abusive educational environment will breed the most egregious abuses by school-based personnel and their overlords in the districts, clusters, and networks.  Students will be used cynically as props in this bloodless war.  Examples exist throughout the country.
Where, when, and how are we really helping high-poverty, segregated students to be healthier, happier, and more accomplished, especially as social mobility for the poor has become nearly impossible?   The lives of my students have only become more desperate, stressful, and hopeless as the economy has worsened and the distribution of wealth has become more concentrated at the top.  Shame on America and its ill-informed money-makers who try to influence educational policy with their pat answers and easy formulas.  Social and economic justice is the only answer.