DC Public Schools Test Scoring Goes Down, Is it Rhee’s Fault?

Sign spotted in front of a DC home after a few school closings were announced last year.

“Dear PoP,

I thought this article was interesting and something people would be eager to discuss.

Rhee seems to have made HUGE strides in public schools and yet she still seems to get ripped on. Reading the comments at the bottom of the article I get the distinct feeling that many of those are coming from teachers that were fired. All of that being said, I think that it could be very difficult for parents of the kids who are having so much turnover in their school’s staff.”

The brief Post article says:

“D.C. officials announced Tuesday that reading and math test scores declined in elementary schools this year, halting a two-year run of significant gains and dealing a setback to Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as she seeks to overhaul city schools.”

However the article also says:

“Rhee called the three-year gains at the middle and high school levels — an average of 14 percentage points in reading and 17 points in math — a significant achievement.”

So how do you judge if Rhee is successful or not? Clearly this has become a major (Mayoral) campaign issue as the article also notes. Can success or failure be judged now or will it only become clear a few years from now?

In completely unrelated Rhee news it was reported by News8 that “Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says he will marry D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee over the Labor Day weekend.”