Betsy DeVos is a huge fan of cybercharters. When responding in writing to questions from the Senate HELP Committee, she cited astonishing graduation rates for cybercharters.
She lied.
Benjamin Herold of Education Week did the fact-checking:
In her written response to questions from a key Democratic senator, Education Secretary-nominee Betsy DeVos defended full-time online charter schools using graduation rates significantly higher than those used for state and federal accountability purposes. The figures and language cited by DeVos directly mirror those used in a report from K12 Inc., the country’s largest for-profit operator of cyber charter schools, in which DeVos is a former investor.
According to the Ohio education department, for example, the Ohio Virtual Academy has a four-year graduation rate of 53 percent, good for an “F” on the state’s accountability system.
DeVos put the figure at 92 percent….
She was specific in her lies.
In written questions, Murray, who is the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, asked whether it is appropriate to advocate for the schools, despite their poor results.
DeVos responded:
“High quality virtual charter schools provide valuable options to families, particularly those who live in rural areas where brick-and-mortar schools might not have the capacity to provide the range of courses or other educational experiences for students. Because of this, we must be careful not to brand an entire category of schools as failing students.”
She then cited a number of schools and what she described as their graduation rates, which differ markedly from the figures used by each school’s state for accountability purposes:
The Idaho Virtual Academy has a 90 percent graduation rate, DeVos said. The school’s most recent publicly reported figure for state accountability purposes is 33 percent.
The Nevada Virtual Academy has a 100 percent graduation rate, DeVos said. The school’s most recent publicly reported figure for state accountability purposes is 67 percent.
The Ohio Virtual Academy has a 92 percent graduation rate, DeVos said. The school’s most recent publicly reported figure for state accountability purposes is 53 percent.
The Oklahoma Virtual Academy has a 91 percent graduation rate, DeVos said. The school’s most recent publicly reported figure for state accountability purposes is 40 percent.
The Utah Virtual Academy has a 96 percent graduation rate, DeVos said. The school’s most recent publicly reported figure for state accountability purposes is 42 percent.
The schools listed in DeVos’ written response, and the language she used to introduce them—”the following virtual academies have four-year cohort graduation rates at or above 90 percent”—is the same as the language used by K12 Inc. in its 2016 Academic Report.
Here is what she did not mention, but that the Senate HELP Committee–and the full Senate–should know.
The Tennessee Virtual Academy is the lowest-performing school in the state (Senator Alexander must know that). When then-State Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman tried to close it, he was stymied by its friends in high places.
The New York Times reported that the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow has the lowest graduation rate in the nation.
Even DFER founder Whitney Tilson inveighed against K12 Inc. because of its “dismal academic results” and “sky high” attrition rates.
Stephen Henderson, the editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press, warned that Betsy DeVos has a long-standing habit of twisting data to promote her favorite causes (charters and vouchers), and that she is not to be trusted to tell the truth.
He wrote:
A true advocate for children would look at the statistics for charter versus traditional public schools in Michigan and suggest taking a pause, to see what’s working, what’s not, and how we might alter the course.
Instead, DeVos and her family have spent millions advocating for the state’s cap on charter schools to be lifted, so more operators can open and, if they choose, profit from more charters.
Someone focused on outcomes for Detroit students might have looked at the data and suggested better oversight and accountability.
But just this year, DeVos and her family heavily pressured lawmakers to dump a bipartisan-supported oversight commission for all schools in the city, and then showered the GOP majority who complied with more than $1 million dollars in campaign contributions.
The Department of Education needs a secretary who values data and research, and respects the relationship between outcomes and policy imperatives.
Nothing in Betsy DeVos’ history of lobbying to shield the charter industry from greater accountability suggests she understands that.
If she’s confirmed, it will be a dark day for the value of data and truth in education policy.
Diane Ravitch's blog 