When something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
This is the lesson that CCSD Superintendent Nancy McGinley learned from MiShawna Moore's brief tenure as principal of Sanders-Clyde and, then, at McGinley's insistence and at the same time, as principal of Fraser Elementary. We'll never know exactly what happened during PACT testing there, but it would be hard to find any rational person who believes that nothing untoward did.
What is most troubling about the entire fiasco is what it reveals about the Superintendent's readiness to grasp at any straw to show how she has improved failing schools. This is not "for the children"; it is for the reputation of an educational professional planning to use CCSD as a stepping stone to bigger and better job opportunities.
Thus, while McGinley did not put Moore into her position at Sanders-Clyde, she was only too happy to receive its amazing test scores as a sign that her policies were working, to the point that she trusted a second school to Moore over the objections of many in the district. Why look a gift horse in the mouth?
Putting the best gloss on it requires some prevarication. [See Test-score Investigation Ended for her latest attempts.] The reality is that until the state testing agency brought to McGinley's attention that Sanders-Clyde's test copies showed unusual patterns of erasures, the superintendent never suspected or checked to see if the PACT scores tallied with other measures of performance for the school. The district had no choice about investigating once it was contacted by the state. Let's at least keep the record straight.
Given that no one has been disciplined or charged with any crime in the matter, what message has SLED (and the district) sent to other administrators desperate to polish their resumes by raising test scores in illegal ways? MiShawna Moore got an assistant superintendent's job out of it.
What did the kids at Sanders-Clyde get?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
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4 comments:
As with the P&C series on the poor reading levels among CCSD's entering high school students, Dr. McGinley gets focused (reacts) only when serious problems become so obvious she can no longer ignore them.
Sanders-Clyde insiders and community members complained to the D20 board for at least a year and a half (or more) about the principal's behavior. In turn specific complaints and questions were presented by D20 officials to appropriate CCSD administrators, including Dr. McGinley. Among these were questions about the incident in 2006 involving the school's PACT tests. Sanders-Clyde’s entire batch of completed student answer sheets went "missing" over a weekend. Ms. Moore gave a rather "thin" explanation to county school district officials who appear to have bought it without question. Officially Ms. Moore and her employers in the superintendent’s office said only that the completed tests had been mistakenly "locked in a closet" and somehow the only key was "lost" until a locksmith was called in several days later.
Among those who believed the in the school’s potential to excel with the right resources (and in spite of the socio-economic statistics stacked against the community it served), there was a growing suspicion that Ms. Moore and county administrators were willing to cut corners to achieve results they wanted quickly. The reported test improvements reflected well on district leadership but would reflect nothing substantial or sustainable in the education of these students left still with on the “potential to excel”. If true, this would reveal a cynical truth about some educators today, both Black and White. CCSD officials didn’t really believe improvements among these kids were possible without cheating. A lot of downtown parents, Black and White, don’t agree with CCSD’s disrespectful treatment of these students or how our inner city schools continue to be marginalized by the superintendent.
Fraser parents reminded Dr. McGinley and current School Board Chairman Green of this and other misgivings. In 2007 CCSD announced the superintendent's "brilliant" idea of making Ms. Moore the principal of two schools at the same time. Fraser parents raised valid concerns. At a public meeting the superintendent and Ms. Green simply dismissed their questions with comments like "trust us" to know what's best for you.
Even with SLED's summation of an official investigation with no conclusions, there is nothing that encourages us to trust Dr. McGinley's judgment, then or now. Not only is this report way too "thin" for the gravity of the charges, but Dr. McGinley and her team in charge of CCSD has provided a level of academic leadership for our most vulnerable students that is just as marginally thin.
I am sure there are other opinions about how the whole scenario played out, since only a limited number of folks were privy to the whole fiasco, but...
Isn't this danger of judging schools by limited metrics (via NCLB).
You can show gains, "legitimately", by teaching to the test, test preparation blitzes, double-block remediation, etc... The longitudinal improvement is not aided via this approach, but schools are pressured to show these gains.
You can also cook numbers in suspension rates, drop-out rates, violent behavior at schools, etc...
I think the culture of numbers in education is inherently corrupt.
What did the kids at Sanders-Clyde get? Well they got credit for something they didn't do or earn...
just a typical day in the life of downtown CCSD schools where social promotion is the norm. You're right on when it comes to Dr. McGinley. Any teacher who really cares about her downtown students sees right through her.
Halifax County, North Carolina, current home to the illustrious Ms. Moore and another former academic giant of CCSD, Geraldine Middleton (Halifax County Superintendent), had a "phenomenal" year with their preliminary AYP results just released today for 08-09. Eight out of 13 schools made AYP under their "leadership." One high school, South Halifax, is currently listed as going 0-13 in meeting its AYP goals. Unbelievable! This information is now available by going to NCDPI website. Outstanding leadership by those two esteemed educators.
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