John Merrow deserves enormous praise for his dogged investigative journalism in pursuing the allegations of widespread cheating in the DC public schools during the tenure of Michelle Rhee.
Perhaps even more impressive is that he recognized his own error in his past coverage, which had presented Rhee in a heroic light. Merrow, by his account, ran a dozen PBS segments on Rhee, which were very positive. It was only towards the end of his last story that he began to dig deeper, especially after he heard the story of Adell Cothorne. Cothorne was the principal at Noyes campus who says she walked in on a grade-changing meeting of staff; she reported it at once to central headquarters. In no time, she was a pariah. Merrow wanted to know why.
Kudos to John Merrow.
Here is a compilation of his reports: REPORTING ABOUT MICHELLE RHEE.
The curious part of this story is that no one cares. No one is investigating. Even after Merrow’s exposé, even after he reported that the DC schools are worse off now than before Rhee and her protege Kaya Henderson started, Rhee goes on unscathed. She is still claiming dramatic gains on her watch. In one of his documentaries, Merrow showed Rhee confronting principals and demanding higher scores–or else. Beverly Hall used the same tactics to pressure principals in Atlanta and is facing serious jail time. But Rhee is doing well indeed. The far-right, anti-public education Walton Foundation just gifted her organization with $8 million to promote her failed policies across the nation.
John, please keep following the story. It is not over.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I guess when media conglomerates get into the publishing business, we get less Edward Murrow’s.
Should we be surprised that EdWeek’s report this week, “Rifts Deepen Over Direction of Ed. Policy in U.S.” mentioned Rhee but not a word was stated about the cheating scandal in DC –or anywhere else? http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/05/08/30debate_ep.h32.html
Take a peek at the kind of “reporting” that gets done over at The Educated Reporter (hint: not very much):
http://www.educatedreporter.com/
MICHELLE RHEE: CREATING A SYSTEM OF PRESSURE
It was John Merrow’s interview with Michelle Rhee, when she was still in charge of DCPS, that first raised my hackles. She said, “Pressure is good.” It was a bit like two decades ago, when Gordon Gekko declared, ‘Greed is good.’ In both cases the statement is presented as the hard, unvarnished truth that people are unwilling to accept because they are too politely unrealistic. That the declaration of the goodness of pressure and greed also serves the interest of the speaker is left unsaid.
That was the goal of Michelle Rhee and the others:
Creating A System Of Pressure —
–a system of pressure that would have people teaching children doubt themselves and blame themselves for things over which they had no control
–a system of pressure that would put more power into the hands of managers, just as it has in the university system
–a system of pressure that would come down on people who worked everyday, that would justify the accumulation of wealth by a few who the market selected and who our political system would not touch
It is worth remembering that the greed line didn’t first come from Michael Douglas playing a fictional character; it was originally said by Ivan Boesky addressing students at the Columbia Business school. There was a presumption behind the statement, that greed was so good that it deserved to go unregulated.
Of course, the law did catch up to Mr. Boesky and he spent 3 years in a minimum security prison from which he had a 3 day furlough every two months. It was tough, but he has had his consolations – he’s reportedly worth between 2 and 3 billion today.
We should link greed and pressure. Each is only one of many neo-liberal tendencies that continue to shape reform efforts in the education field. And they have a synergetic relationship – the concepts have in common dual presumption: for-profit enterpises show us how tenure hurts productivity and workers should be exposed to pressure in order to increase productivity.
Michelle Rhee’s ‘pressure is good’ statement is emblematic The full quote is, “People feel a little stressed out. They feel a lot of pressure. But that’s good. Pressure is good.”
(John Merrow’s interview with Rhee , from Leadership: A Challenging Course, Ep. 8, PBS, airdate 1-13, 09, http://www.challengingcourse.org/dc/segment8.html#transcript) It assumes that educators are not under enormous pressure already, that more pressure will increase their efficacy. This is an argument transplanted from the for-profit/business world, where it was accepted that the efficient use of resources was among the most highly leveraged concepts. This includes human resources. But is it good?
Aristotle thought leisure –the lack of pressure– was the condition of philosophy, but perhaps we don’t want philosophers. Maybe we want entrepreneurs, and if we do, then we are well served by the elements of contemporary education reform which, are embedded in a neo-liberal program, considers insecurity a positive and seeks to increase pressure on workers. Not that we would educate more entrepreneurs, but the lure of making money would draw in more and more enterpreneurs.
What would they do? Even if their teachers were quite good, the threat of an unsatisfactory ranking will put pressure on people to work harder and improve.
As we consider that, we should note that, unlike a steamfitter, Michelle Rhee has no way to measure the pressure already in the system or whether it is equipped to handle more. We can ask, if this is general through the society, is that the society in which we want to live? One based on greed and pressure?
Brian Ford: you have pointed out another glaring bit of hypocrisy on the part of the edubullies.
If excruciatingly high pressure is good—for teacher, students, parents—then you would think that the schools that ArneRhee&Co send their children to would be exemplars of that tenet.
I challenge anyone to go just to the websites of Harpeth Hall or Cranbrook and show how excruciatingly high pressure is a hallmark of their philosophy and practice of teaching and learning. I do not mean that those two schools don’t have ‘high standards.’ Rather, that they offer a very wide range of challenging activities and programs [many pitched to the individual child’s age, interests and abilities] that are guaranteed to ‘wring’ every last ounce of talent and ambition out of their charges.
Just one small but telling example. Under the 50 reasons to send one’s child to Harpeth Hall, note the following amazing statement [amazing given the rationale of the education status quo for making teaching in public schools a short-term McJob]: “14. Our faculty average more than 18 years of teaching experience and 80 percent hold advanced degrees.”
Take the pressure off and look what you end up with: teachers that average 18 years of teaching experience and 80% hold advanced degrees.
Boy, now that’s mediocrity, right?
Right? Am I wrong here? I rest their case…
🙂
The ideology is anti-professional, anti-union, anti-state, unabashedly free market —
However, we could paraphrase Churchill, to say the mix of state authority and the regulation of civil society is the worst system ever created, except for all the others. In other words, state regulation is necessary to create a humane civil society. One advocate of this strain of thought is Jonathan Kozol:
I’ve never in my entire life seen any evidence that the competitive free market, unrestricted, without a strong counterpoise within the public sector, will ever dispense decent medical care, sanitation, transportation, or education to the people. It’s as simple as that.1
The continued lack of a thorough investigation might be shocking except there are people who previously praised Rhee who don’t want to be embarrassed. Remember that during the 2008 campaign Obama said positive things about what she was doing. One has to wonder if that is why Dept of Education Inspector General did not dig too deeply.
Sadly it reminds me of one of the low points of the career of Colin Powell, where he did an “investigation” My Lai that failed to come close to the truth, perhaps because the Army really didn’t want to go there?
@teacherken: Asked and answered re: ED.
WH Fires Walpin after St. Hope Investigation regarding Kevin “Sweet 16” Johnson
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/06/white_house_explains_firing_of.html
Don’t forget Colin Powell’s flatulent presentation to the UN on those mythical weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Or the kinds of things he says about education “reform.”
No doubt. I have no respect for Powell
I am amazed at the lack of coverage. Merrow and others must stay after this. I want the informer related to the memo to come forward if there is more he or she can add. Why don’t the people of DC care about the truth? I guess because it was other people’s children who were cheated.
informer is very much in fear having seen how Rhee and Henderson play.
Look, if Sanford can be re-elected in South Carolina as a liar and an adulterer, Michelle Rhee will certainly escape scrutiny as a liar and a cheater. America is in sad shape on so many fronts.
There are those rare individuals who are honest with themselves and would rather live in well investigated Truth then standby manipulated lies. Reporter Merrow (a remarkable mentor to all who are following in his professional footsteps) has dedicated himself to reporting fairly and well with the hope that the babies are not thrown out with the bathwater. “If progress is not about people, it is not progress!” Douglas D. Noble
I keep referring to the author above because he dared to tell the story in the past about where we are now (now is the future of yesterday). Referring to Noble’s, The Classroom Arsenal:Military Research, Information Technology, and Public Education, Philadelphia, PA:Falmer Press, 1991, is compelling and fighteningly on target. Please, take time to read Noble’s work and awaken your mind to The Truth About The Information Highway.
This is about each of you and the children.
Patrick Shannon states in his article “An Artificial Education for an Artificial Life” the following on Noble….”Noble’s argument is convincing through the sheer-weight of his evidence, and it is exciting in his willingness to name names.” Do not say you have not been warned, this has been at great risk to those that choose to Tell All The People and Do No Harm!
Thank you Mr. Merrow and staff and Diane Ravitch…
Here is the standard response/form letter for the USDOE:
Thank you for your email to Secretary Arne Duncan sharing your concern over alleged test score cheating within the District of Columbia public school system, under the authority of former School Chancellor Michelle Rhee. For several different reasons outlines in your communication, you have requested that the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) conduct an investigation of possible fraud, mistreatment of teachers, teachers changing answers to student’s completed tests, and overstated reform efforts that appear to have failed miserably. Your email was referred to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) for review, and I am pleased to respond. First, I apologize for the delay in responding to your correspondence as our office receives a large volume of mail daily.
Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) cannot intervene or make recommendations related to personnel, administrative policies or procedures within a local school district; these matters are the primary responsibility of State and local education agencies, unless specifically required in federal education statutes. As you may know, education is under the direct discretion of State and local governments, and the Department is prohibited by law from exercising any direction, supervision, or control over such matters as personnel, curriculum, the teaching of particular subjects, data collection and test administration, as well as student grade promotion, the duration of the school day, and fiscal resources.
Consequently, you may want to file a formal complaint with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Hotline if you suspect fraud, waste, or abuse involving U.S. Department of Education (the Department) funds or programs. Complaints or concerns received through the Hotline are evaluated, consistent with established agency performance measures published in the OIG Annual Plan, and may be referred for OIG investigation, audit, inspection or other review. You can obtain formal complaint procedures for the OIG at:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/hotline.html.
I regret that the Department is not able to provide you with any additional assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Janice Brooks
Executive Office
Office of Elementary & Secondary Education (OESE)
400 Maryland Avenue
Washington, DC 20202
And as noted by a colleague:
So the USDOE via RTTT must be breaking the law since it allows the feds to ‘exercise direction, supervision, and control over personnel, data collection and test administration” if we follow the same principles and logic.
actually not, Linda. It is merely setting condition for receipt of federal funds. A condition of aid is not a mandate nor is it direction. Other than civil rights issues, which includes Special Education and Title IX, the federal government does not direct. And even Title IX is phrased in terms of receipt of federal funds
Maybe your elected Congress person and two Senators would be a good bet to write to. Also Darrell Issa who has oversight responsibilities for DC. Can’t hurt.
Another aspect of this story which really peeves me and I’ve written to a few reporters, BOE members, and city council members about this is the fact that anyone who taught in DCPS during Rhee’s reign and the period in question can and will always be suspected of cheating. An investigation, to use one of their favorite words: of robust proportions, would certainly clear that up. Now, I can tell you that I didn’t cheat. I can swear on a stack of bibles that I didn’t cheat. Anyone who knows me can attest to the same. But, I can’t prove it. There were two classes at my school that were flagged for possible cheating. If there were none- I would be in the free and clear. But since there were two, I’m not.
Now, with the abuse many us had to endure working under her, the fair thing, the right thing to do would be to cut the horse hockey and investigate. Let’s exonerate the innocent and prosecute the guilty.
The next thing Merrow or someone with the necessary resources should do is to track down more of those who have left the DC system for other endeavors and interview them, anonymously if needed but on the record (yes, oxymoron) as this would provide additional pressure for an investigation when published. There are a lot of people involved in this, and some of them need to step up and do the right thing, and perhaps they already want to. Knowing what’s at stake for those with the most to lose, I doubt any offer of immunity will be forthcoming in exchange for testimony. I also wonder if given her resources, Rhee hasn’t already reached out to them all and smoothed things over with some of her black budget cash. Rhee’s situation remains a house of cards waiting for one or two to be pulled out for it to collapse.
Mr. Merrow could contact individuals in DC with more information if he chose. At any time he can email me.
It is possible that people who have worked for Michelle would speak but off the record. People are not open to come out because of the machine she has around her, her consultants, her fake husband, her media friends. Not only Merrow but Oprah and many others endorsed Rhee and are looking the other way now because accepting the truth is embarrassing. Michelle is cold and manipulative and she knows exactly how to play this game. She lives and rolls like a celeb and doesn’t lose any sleep over the cheating scandal because she loves the attention.
Good lesson for the media for buying into empty soundbites of a self centered woman.
I’m still disappointed – and disgusted – that John Merrow bought into the Michelle Rhee hype. Honestly, was it really that hard to see through the nonsense?
But I am also appreciative that John Merrow is now digging deeper, and realizes that he allowed himself to be duped.
Still, should anyone really be surprised that “no one cares” about his follow-up? Consider, for example, the issue of climate change. It’s real, and it’s happening at an even faster pace than initially predicted. But who really cares? Or wants to do anything about it? [Okay, some people do, granted. But who, and how many?]
Or take the issue of complex derivates and swap traded on Wall Street, mostly without any regulation. As USA Today, reports, “A main cause of the financial crisis was abuses in derivatives trading, from collateralized debt obligations based on mortgage-backed securities to credit default swaps.”
The Dodd-Frank bill was supposed to correct all that. But federal regulatory agencies have to turn Dodd-Frank into regulatory rules. And “to formulate rules, the agencies have to allow those affected to comment…the banks are abusing this procedure and flooding the CFTC with thousands of comment letters to slow the rule-making process…When a rule makes it into final form, the bank lobby takes the regulator to court, where richly paid litigators such as Eugene Scalia, the son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, follow a scorched-earth policy of delay and distraction.”
How many citizens even know about this or are willing to do anything about it? Especially when, as Gary Rivlin documents, “3,000 lobbyists swarmed the Capitol in hopes of killing off pieces of the proposed bill—nearly six lobbyists for every member of Congress…lobbyists for the big banks and industry trade groups divided themselves into eighteen working groups, each organized around a different element of the new law…the big story was the staggering sums of money being spent by the industry to defeat the bill—more than $1 billion on lobbying alone.”
Rivlin continues:
“Just five banks—Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America—account for more than a 95 percent share of a derivatives market that has been generating an estimated $40 billion to $50 billion in annual revenues…derivatives should matter to the rest of us, at least if we want to reduce the odds that the banks will again blow up the global economy.”
But people think that if the stock market id going up, well, the rest of the economy must follow. Right? But the big banks and hedge-funders, comprised of some of the very same people funding corporate-style eduction “reform,” are – in fact – “selling the very same ‘risky amalgams of mortgages and loans’ they sold during the boom, The New York Times reported on its front page in April, and minting more ‘arcane-sounding financial products’ like the kind that doomed the economy only five years ago.”
We all should care. But do we? And perhaps even more importantly, those who are engaged in these nefarious practices (on Wall Street, and in education) do not seem to be bothered in the least. Why not? What kind of people are these?
They lie. They cheat. And they do it unrepentantly.
And they just keep raking in the cash.
You have to remember that D.C. is unique in all K-12 in the U.S. because of the involvement of the Federal Govt. in the day to day there. Also, they have $29,145/student which is the highest in the U.S. You have to work real hard to mess up that one. LAUSD has about $11,000 and it is $2,000/student higher than the average California Unified School District (K-12) and is above the national average according to DOE. Saving face is most important to those who messed up like the city councilman we saw at UCLA a couple of weeks ago when he bragged about converting 40% of D.C. to charters. What he did not say is that he helped mess up D.C. When we tried to present to the students and public there the other side of charter schools and privatization and corporatization they brought in the university police. Well, I had my video cam running. A lady got all upset about this and I said “Do you know the law concerning recording public meetings in California?” She said she did and she did not. In fact, this was being recorded by the school. I was totally legal and continued and the police did nothing they just did not allow us to speak or we would be “ARRESTED.” This is what we are dealing with. I have never seen worse so-called intellectualness. This is who they are even in our universities. Too much grant money is on the line for them. Bought and sold once again. They did not like the fact that we stayed and recorded even with the police there. Once at LAUSD even after sending the General Counsels office a letter a week ahead of time on CORE-CA letterhead that I would be at the meeting and the law which allowed it and the law to prosecute them if they tried to stop us they had waiting 9 school police, a canine unit, an asst. Superintendent and the #2 from the General Counsel’s office, Greg McNair. They exploded when I brought out the camera. On video and audio I have them saying we do not care if we are charged with a crime, you can record the conversation outside of the room, we can do anything we want, we can make up anything we want, we do not care about the constitution and we do not care about your press pass. This is who you are dealing with. Totally lawless. The Prez. is the leader of the totally lawless. Duncan is his tool.
I think there are several problems with your DC cost/student. First, have you included the charter students, because I believe the costs for them are in the DC schools budget but their students are not in their census – the funds get passed through.
Second, the last time I analyzed the expenditures about five years ago, if you backed out the costs for Special Ed and Security, about which I will explain in a minute, DC spend about the same/student as neighboring Montgomery County.
Let’s start with security – while I have analyzed it recently, I think most DC schools require everyone except identified staff/faculty and law enforcement to be screened by metal detector and scanning bags. That is expensive, and is a cost that has little to do with educating students.
Second, DC has never developed the capability to fulfill the SPED needs of its students. In the case you get stuck with external placements – for which there are a lot in DC. Unlike schools not in major metro areas, where there not lawyers who specialize in this, there are tons of lawyers who make a living forcing the district to address special education needs.
Finally, the DC metro area is pretty expensive. The median price of a one family home (three bedrooms, 1.5 baths) in Arlington VA where I live is just under $600,000.
Just a few of the reasons what appears to be expensive spending/student may not be as you stated it.
Merrow has not changed his opinions on VAM and unions. This mea culpa is incomplete!!
I’ll accept anyone who admits ANY of his or her past mistakes. The fact that Merrow—of all people—is now saying, in effect: “Everything she claimed about improving DC schools was one big deliberate lie and a real, full investigation needs to take place!” IS a very good thing. Let’s give Merrow our full support on this. He needs to know we have his back!
Mr. Merrow also has not said a signal word about the careers his false coverage ruined. no interview of them and the obvious criminal behavior that existed during Michelle Rhee tenure. School gal is absolutely right the mea culpa is not complete and Mr. Merrow recieves no absolution for his actions. Mr. merrow face those whose careers you helped to ruin. Especially the excellent teachers!!
Merrow and people like him were the ones who helped this bs movement proliferate. They kow towed to people like Gates and bought all of the blame and criticism heaped on teachers. The teachers are ordinary middle class people. The billionaires were the people who knew how to “fix” everything with all of the money and power. Look at people like Friedman. He’s a bought out windbag. Did Merrow and others repeatedly interview teachers? Did he look through their perspective? They went along with the super rich and powerful and pounded on ordinary workers.
Well, rather then lament the obvious—that the media is ignoring this story and ignoring the views of educators and parents—let’s go out and do it ourselves!
Most of us are on Facebook and/or Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and other social networks. We can all call and—very politely and courteously, please—inquire with the appropriate reporters and editors why this vital story isn’t being covered? We can do the same with local and national TV and radio stations, and thousands of news sites and bloggers across the web.
We’re not powerless, people!
MORE IDEAS: We can enlist the help of the excellent people at Media Matters http://mediamatters.org who would be happy to know more about this. There’s also The Nation, Mother Jones, The New Yorker, The Atlantic…I’m just getting started!
Individuals like Matt Taibbi, Bill Moyers, Rachel Maddow, and many, many more; believe it or not, in most cases, this story is being ignored because most journalists, editors and publishers know NOTHING about it. Contact them. You’ll be surprised how conscientious and genuinely interested some of them can be.
Let’s see: there’s also your school, district, and state PTA or PTO. Spread the word there. Make a funny video or cartoon about it: those “do it yourself for free” cartoon and video sites are all over the Internet. These things can go viral.
AND, talk to your US Senators and Congressional Representative. Find out which members of Congress are on the Committee that oversees Washington D.C. governance. Do the same for those individuals on the Education Committees and Subcommittees in both houses of Congress!
Recently, a small group of fundamentalist Christians were angered at what they said was insufficient media coverage of allegations against Kermit Gosnell, a provider of illegal abortion, in Philadelphia. Using the same type of networks and actions above, they succeeded in getting the media to focus on this story and giving it nationwide attention it would not have received otherwise.
We can do it to. Pick up your phone. Send emails. Post this “Rhee Cheating Scandal & Subsequent Cover Up” story everywhere.
It’s actually a GREAT story with true drama and intrigue; just the type of thing the media likes. The time for a “Counter Narrative” on our nation’s K-12 schools is long overdue. But the media, always looking for what’s “new” and the latest “trends” will love this story which is replete with all the high-drama elements.
But FIRST they need to learn that this story exists!
And it is OUR job to tell them. Now!
Thank you, Puget sound parent
I made a point several years ago to out Rhee with solid statistics. Eventually the mainstream media started to take notice.
It used to be that the majority of the articles about her were glowing. Now most of them are negative – so her reputation is catching up with her, but not fast enough!
There are a lot of media folks who just aren’t saying anything. THey’ve gone silent — as if it’s better to say nothing at all if you can’t say something good.
Maybe they’re embarrassed for making such asses of themselves. But there’s too much at stake (if you care of kids’ education — and the truth) to let it go now. I think we shoul demand that all those who publicly praised Rhee do what Merrow did – denounce her — totally based on facts.
they have a professional and civic responsibility to do it. Perhaps Merrow could lend a hand in getting this job done.