When Kevin Huffman (ex-TFA) brought in his friend Chris Barbic (ex-TFA) to run a district made up of the state’s lowest performing schools, the district was euphemistically called the Achievement School District.
Barbic promised that within five years, these schools would rank in the top 25% in the state.
In its first year report, the state ranked it 5 out of 5 in growth; math scores were up by 3% but reading scores were down by 5%.
Gary Rubinstein reviews the numbers and finds it amazing that the state could recognize a drop in reading scores in the state’s lowest performing schools as a sign of extraordinary growth.
Since Gary, also ex-TFA, knows the people involved, he holds out hope that Chris Barbic will be the first of the big-name corporate reformers to do a 180 and recognize that high expectations and TFA are not enough.
It is sad that this kind of hype has become predictable, when it should be inexcusable.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The only real “high expections” these people have is for the increased power and profit margins of the interests they serve, and who will generously compensate them after their “public service” has ended.
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“Growth” may be the most abused word in the English language. In fact, it deserves special legislation to protect if from chronic abuse by Corporate Education Reformers. In Louisiana, Supt. John White construes “growth” as ACT achievement scores that don’t decline as quickly as in other states. We ”are growing closer to the bottom,” which is a kind of growth, from his perspective. .
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