G.F. Brandenburg is a retired math teacher who has a habit of plain speaking and a math teacher’s ability to get right to the point. His ability to dissect false claims using data is almost unparalleled; I say “almost,” because another math teacher, Gary Rubinstein, is good at this too.
In this post, he asks whether today’s indictments in Atlanta might be followed by similar indictments in the District of Columbia.
This is the question that many readers have raised.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
There must be more that just them as they are all in the same program with the same sponsors and directors. This game is being run like a large corporation with many divisions with the advantages of offshoring the wealth. Kool plan if you are them. Make lots of money and have to really not do much.
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Indict Michelle Rhee! Arrest her!
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If there is the proper proof that Rhee was involved, and I am sure that it is there, she needs to be treated like any other person accused of a crime and treated with the proper legal procedures and if convicted treated like a common criminal. This is the only way to send the message not what they are doing to teacher now with no due process. This creates more of a lawless environment and a lack of respect for good cause.
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Thanks, but Rubenstein, Jersey Jazzman, Crazy Crawfish and a few others also do an excellent job in digging stuff up, on many things better than I do at my very best.
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gfbrandenburg: you find yourself in good company. And deservedly so.
Thank you for all your efforts.
🙂
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I want to add my thanks to G.F. Brandenburg.
I rely on him time and again.
In my new book, I cite him repeatedly.
He is a model for all of us who care about the future of American education.
And a model for everyone who longs to see basic integrity restored to public discourse.
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Did you see the Michigan House voted to extend the EAA schools to 50? Also, the EM law of Detroit went into effect and the EM wiped out the DPS school board and fired the superintendent chosen by the board? It is all unbelievable. The board had previously tried to get back its EAA schools and refuse to listen to the Viceroy Roberts.
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This is what happens when you cross dictators.
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G.F. I hope to be as active and involved as you when I retire. You are still a hero to us. Thank you for all you do!
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Don’t you people see that the federal government rewards this type of behavior? While you’re doing your research, look who received the RT3 funding – some of these very school districting involved in cheating. I thought theses schools were supposed to be leading the way for the rest of us to follow.
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Has there been an investigation in DC? The cheating scandal in Atlanta isn’t any bigger than any other school district, it was just the first to be publicized, and it was investigated by someone from the outside in a statewide investigation. I don’t think I have heard of any other state doing a statewide sweep or any other districts having outside investigations. There are plenty of superintendents of districts with apparent cheating (large leaps in test scores) who could likely be indicted, but they won’t if there isn’t even an investigation.
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Cheating episodes have emerged across the nation since the pressure of success is irrationally linked to factors out of the control of educators and linked to the high stakes failures of politicians. I do not and cannot condone the cheating behavior; however, I also question why we revel in the failure of colleagues. Please, examine the assumptions of the testing, the impact of simple solutions to adaptive challenges, and why we continue to allow outsiders to legislate our loosely coupled profession. We need to take control, expel cheats and liars from our ranks, and maintain our course when politicians try to wrestle our research-based practices into sound bites!
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Dr. Lindsay failure by accident is OK and human in order to learn. Failure on purpose which ruins the live of our youth and their future is another thing when they know what they are doing.
Basing our decisions on real research and outcomes is more of what we should be doing. One way to do this is to gather together those principals who have actually proven that they turned around poor performing schools rapidly. All seem to have some basic similar ways of doing it. Why not listen to those who have a proven track record instead of highly paid consultants who have never done a thing except collect big checks?
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