13 schools bear further investigation for cheating; 325 teachers recalled
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
13 schools bear further investigation for cheating; 325 teachers recalled
Kristen Graham
4:10 p.m.
Officials from the Philadelphia School District's accountability office said today that they had "many concerns" about the data analysis used by the state to flag 28 district schools for possible 2009 PSSA cheating. Still, they said, the district will cooperate with the state and hopes for more complete information. Among the data it wants before coming to any conclusions are forensic analyses of the 2010 and 2011 PSSAs.
Of the 28 schools the district was directed to analyze, 13 schools bear further investigation because they have big jumps in test scores and flags for erasures on exams. The district declined to name the schools, and said it hopes the state helps conduct those investigations when the time comes. The rest of the schools do not merit further investigation, officials said.
Fran Newburg, the district's Deputy Chief of Accountability and Educational Technology, said the district "takes very seriously these allegations" but stressed that most principals and teachers are honest and do good work. Newburg encouraged any staffer with information about cheating to come forward to the district or the state with specifics. In many cases, "I think what we have is very vague allegations against schools," said Daniel Piotrowski, Executive Director of Accountability and Assessment.
Newburg also said that even if the 13 schools are taken out of the picture, the district would still have nine straight years of test score gains.
In other news, the district recently said that it is recalling 325 teachers who were laid off in June. It has 1,335 teaching positions to fill for the upcoming school year. "Over the next couple of weeks, additional teachers may be invited to return to positions in the school district," spokeswoman Elizabeth Childs said in a release. "This process follows the collective bargaining agreement providing teachers with the most seniority within a subject area priority in the re-hiring."
EARLIER:
The Philadelphia School District has called a 2 p.m. press conference to discuss its response to a state report that flagged 28 schools for possible irregularities on the 2009 PSSAs. The district was given 30 days to investigate and respond to the report.
Presenting will be Francis Newburg, Deputy Chief of Accountability and Educational Technology, Daniel Piotrowski, Executive Director of Accountability and Assessment, and Leroy Nunery, the district’s deputy superintendent. Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman is not scheduled to attend. I’ll bring you more as it happens. Follow me on Twitter @newskag, or check back here for my live Tweets.
If the PSD's internal investigation uncovers no wrongdoing...and a subsequent probe by an outside entity uncovers fraud/abuses/irregularities, etc., I assume that Messrs. Newburg, Piotrowski and Nunery will be fired, as well they should...— TomTheCork- I would like to agree with TomTheCork's assumption. I even HOPE it would be true. But unfortunately, they won't be fired. Queen Arlene's M.O. is "Blame someone else". Always has been. I see all kinds of stories in the news that others are calling for her ouster. UNtil that happens, her cronies will still have a job. I think we need to clean house at the school district. Unfortunately, I am willing to bet that the contracts of her cronies are worded like hers. Meaning, whether she leaves on her own or gets fired, she will still get paid her full contract. I sincerely hope that at some time in the VERY NEAR future, someone "grows a set" and does the right thing. The right thing being fire Arlene & clean house. I am truly grateful that I don't have to deal with the PSD anymore.— sbtigger
- Where is Ackerman? The taxpayers of Philadelphia demand she be at this meeting!!!!!!!— sendme.rs
- Top ten reasons that Dr. Ackerman should remain as district superintendent: 1) She treats people with respect 2) She knows how to keep budget deficits to only 600 million dollars 3) The Asian community loves her 4) She believes that contacts agreed to by two sides are meaningless 5)She chooses nice flowers to wear with her outfits 6) All SD contacts must be awarded to minority groups even if the cost is three times as much for the same service as somebody who is not a minoity 7) Only a handful of her schools were caught cheating on the PSSA's and what a job she did covering for the rest. 8) She gives really nice Christmas presents to her chauffeur. 9) She has a flair for choosing really nice restaurants to take out lobbyists 10) Did I say she treats people with respect?— ManU63
- So, it looks like cheating occurred but the district wants more data from 2010 and 2011? Is that it?— nikki1231
- Even if queen Arlene didn't orchestrate this-which deos seem a little over the top, these schools faking their tests strips away Ackerman's biggest claim to have gotten scores up- clearly that is now in question and if she doesn't even have that to show for her time here....— Graves
- Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman is not scheduled to attend? What the? oh yeah, she's leaving. no need to go.— Tyrone Biggums
- Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman is not scheduled to attend? What the? oh yeah, she's leaving. no need to go.— Tyrone Biggums
- Really, why is Ackerman a No-show?
Let's face it folks, we don't have any leadership in the PSD. We just have a goldbricker in chief!— nikki1231 - Kristin as a fellow VIKING you & I both know you have known about this 2006 and probably before that. I know this because I was one of the people who told you about it. In addition to telling you how teachers were abused by administrators, their conspiracies, and how teachers were FORCED to change answers, scores & grades! Hello, are you listening/reading people.— abusedteach
- Shouldn't they be discussing a lot more than "suspicious test results"? There's something a lot more "suspicious" than those test results in this school district - starting with the Superintendent.— He Visto Todo
- How does Queenie get away with not showing up for the SRC meeting last week because as Archie stated "she chose not to show up"? Now when she should be facing the music about the cheating, she is no where to be found. Others are left holding the bag..her regular MO. This morning's paper states she was out dancing last night. Shows where her priorities are. How does her mantra"Children First" fit in here??? We all know that no other district employee can get away with not attending a required meeting without serious consequences.— feddie
Comment removed.- Anyone hear from Mayor Nutter about Ackerman? anyone? Gusss not..— STEVE5444
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
