"Tight" security for APS CRCT cheating--er, testing.

In the latest (summer 2010) issue of that must-read periodical "The Atlanta Educator" (you might not have received a copy, or used yours to line a bird cage, so I'll clue you in here), Bev Hall writes one slender paragraph addressing the massive, catastrophic CRCT cheating at APS (which, of course, she's in complete denial about):

"Let me also take time to note that the district anxiously awaits results of an investigation concerning excessive erasures on 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) answer sheets. Headed up by a blue-ribbon panel of business and community leaders, the investigation is expected to be complete by mid- June. Initial reports have found that the district has “tight” testing security and is using many exemplary practices. To strengthen our processes, the panel made a number of recommendations that we implemented for the 2010 CRCT, which our students took in April."

Yup, that's it. That's all she has to say about it.

What "initial reports" is she talking about?

The only official investigation of the Atlanta Public Schools CRCT scandal is being conducted by the "Blue Ribbon Panel" (wow, what PR genius came up with THAT name?) and will be released Monday, Aug. 2, five months after it began and more than two and a half months later than it was due.

Cite your sources, Bev, then explain how your idea of "tight security" squares with the Panel's findings on Monday, when it becomes clear that the Atlanta Public Schools, under your direct supervision, have indeed set a new standard for cheating on standardized tests; a disgrace unequaled by any school district in U.S. history.

You can read the whole issue of "The Atlanta Educator" online, but I won't link to it here, on principle. Any publication that would print such garbage doesn't deserve a link.

Can I use this school-issued credit card to buy me some common sense?

Here's the text of an email I received today from "The Friends of Courtney English," who is our Seat 7 representative on the Atlanta Public Schools Board.

Dear Atlanta Community Member,

As an elected member of the Atlanta Board of Education, I've made a mistake and I hope you will accept my apology.

I did not fully understand the terms of use of a credit card issued to me by the Atlanta Public Schools. I misinterpreted a document that accompanied the credit card when it was issued to me. I mistakenly thought I could use the credit card for personal use as long as I immediately reimbursed the district for any charges incurred.

This is not the policy. I never should have made any personal purchases, period.

I am responsible for $855.83 of disallowed charges made to the credit card between May 29 and June 30, 2010. These charges included an airline ticket, food, gratuities, hotel charges, and other sundries. On July 14, 2010, I reimbursed the district in full for all disallowed charges.

I apologize for this mistake. I take seriously my responsibilities as an elected school board member. I will never make this mistake again.

Sincerely,

Courtney English

Board of Education Seat 7

friendsofCourtneyEnglish@gmail.com
.

And here's what I wrote back to him (corrected from earlier version, where I assumed Courtney was a "her"--rl):

Dear Courtney:

It takes character to admit you made a mistake. Now I hope you will insist on the people you supervise showing the same character.

It is a mistake to try to claim that the worst cheating scandal in the history of standardized testing was the result of some "poor disadvantaged children" trying hard to "correct their own mistakes," as YOUR Atlanta Public Schools spokesman Keith Browery put it when the cheating scandal broke.

To try to actually put this scandal on the backs on the children who were victimized--to, in essence, try to use those children as a shield to deflect criticism from the adults who perpetrated this fraud---now THAT is a mistake that makes yours seem trivial by comparison.

To take credit for being one of the top reformers in the country while in fact your success is largely based on fraudulent test scores (as Bev Hall has done, and is doing)--now THAT is a mistake. Yours is small potatoes compared to that.

When the cheating results are announced on Monday (with a healthy dollop of sugar-coating from the "Blue Ribbon" whatever-it-is, I'm sure), many of us will expect you, our elected leader, to correct some OTHER major mistakes that have been going on lately--like your unwillingness to insist on a permanent director for the Program for Exceptional Children for nearly THREE YEARS now.

Admitting you made a mistake because you're afraid some AJC reporter will find out about it using the Open Records Act is a small first step. (Someone gives you an Atlanta Public Schools credit card and you actually think it would be appropriate to use it for any personal purchases? Give me a break).

If you want forgiveness, show some real courage on Monday.

Let me just add this: does Courtney English not have a credit card of his own? How did it even enter his sphere of consciousness to use a taxpayer-funded credit card --provided for use to him as an elected official -- for personal use?

I think what really happened here is that Courtney English found out that someone from the AJC was sniffing around using the Open Records Act, and he (English) decided to cop a plea before the hammer fell.

How many other APS employees (including Board members) are wondering right now if their own credit card charges are going to be scrutinized now? (Hopefully, the answer is: all of them).