An Open Letter to Dr. Michael Rao, President of Virginia Commonwealth University …

Dr. Michael Rao

Virginia Commonwealth University

Office of the President

P.O. Box 842512

Richmond, Virginia 23284-2512

Dear Dr. Rao,

I write to suggest that you and VCU's Board of Visitors examine a potentially embarrassing situation in the School of Education that smacks of favoritism, nepotism and a possible conflict of interest. 

The Dean of the School of Education, Christine S. Walther-Thomas, and associate dean, Diane Simon-Beatty, not only hired Yvonne Brandon, the failed, former Richmond Public School (RPS) Superintendent [and the former boss of Simon-Beatty's husband, Thomas Beatty], but also hired Mr. Beatty himself.

Now, it may be perfectly legal for them to do this, but the situation certainly fails the smell test.  What message does your university send when it hires people who were on the front line of Richmond’s ignominious and failed use and abuse of a special alternative assessment for children with disabilities? 

With legal loopholes large enough to drive fleets of school buses through -- Brandon, her predecessor, Deborah Jewell-Sherman and Victoria Oakley, the current assistant Supt. for instruction and accountability -- oversaw a meteoric increase in the number of children diagnosed as having a "disability" in order to have those students take a less rigorous assessment.  It must be noted and emphasized that Thomas Beatty was NOT a part of the central administration staff when RPS began aggressively identifying students as having a "disability" that would allow them to take a less rigorous test.

To read what my colleague, John Butcher, and I found when we investigated the use and abuse the Virginia Grade Level Alternative [VGLA], click here [Beware Their Cheating Hearts],  here [Disability Abuse], here [Beware Their Cheating Hearts III], Click on the following links to read what The Washington Post, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Style Weekly, Richmond Magazine, RVA News and The Virginian Pilot said about this scam that was undertaken simply to boost scores. 

Some background:  The Virginia Board of Education approved the Virginia Grade Level Alternative assessment for grades three through eight during the 2004-05 school year. In place of the SOLs, students chosen for VGLA could submit a portfolio of their work in SOL-tested subjects.

In the VGLA program's first year, just over 2,000 students participated statewide. By the 2008-2009 school year, that number was over 47,000. By 2010, the average school district in Virginia had 20 percent of its students taking this alternative test in place of the math and reading SOLs.

Unfortunately, it didn't take educators long to realize that by removing low-scoring students from the larger pool of test takers, they could both increase their schools' average SOL score and their passing percentage.  More's the pity that they also found it was easier to write up the required Individualized Education Program for academically struggling students than it was to prepare them for the SOLs. So the number of VGLA students exploded statewide. 

In the VGLA program's first year, just over 2,000 students participated statewide. By the 2008-2009 school year, that number was over 47,000. By 2010, the average school district in Virginia had 20 percent of its students taking this alternative test in place of the math and reading SOLs.

Indeed, a 2007 study by VCU confirmed that the "depth of knowledge" required by the VGLA was much lower than the SOLs. Educators could get test scores to jump simply by giving more children the alternative test.  

It wasn't until after Butcher and I blew the whistle -- by posting charts, graphs and lengthy analysis about how this gaming of the system worked -- that we caught the attention of  Arthur L. Burton and John Lloyd, both education activists engaged in city education issues. Burton and Lloyd took our research to Del. John M. O'Bannon III, R-Henrico, and he agreed to sponsor legislation to address this systemic cheating.

By the time State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright realized that we had the votes to get O'Bannon's bill passed (albeit a weaker bill than we originally wanted), she decided to release a statement that "VDOE staff are concerned about the increase in the numbers of students with disabilities participating in VGLA over the last few years."

The Virginia General Assembly passed a HB-304 requiring annual written justification for each student's participation in the VGLA. In August 2011, Wright finally announced that the VGLA would be phased out altogether, writing that only "an extremely small number of students with disabilities" should be excluded from the SOL testing. 

To see the most recent data and analysis of the 2013 test scores, click here.                                                                                                                         

That said, my questioning of the wisdom of these hires is fact-based.  In 2013, RPS has the worst scores in the Commonwealth in reading and we are fourth from last in math.  As John R. Butcher notes on his "The Cranky Taxpayer" website:

Richmond's students with disabilities went from 3 points above the state average for students with disabilities to 15.2 points below [on the reading test] from 2012 to 2013.  Looking at these scores in context with the math test leaves only one explanation: the Richmond scores for students with disabilities were inflated until deflated by the new, VGLA-freemath and reading tests.

Whether you credit that analysis or not, explain this: In 2013, Richmond had the lowest pass rate in the state in reading and the fourth lowest math.

Zach Reid, at the Richmond Times Dispatch reported: "Six of the nine city middle schools had lower numbers than last year, when widespread failure was attributed to then-new standards. At the time, school leaders promised more tutoring and focus on individual students.  Five of the city’s eight other middle school programs had pass rates on the test of 22 percent or lower. The second lowest was at Martin Luther King Jr., where the 11 percent rate was actually a substantial improvement from last year’s state-worst 3 percent."

Richmond Magazine reporter, Chris Dovi, noted: " … just 13 of the schools Brandon oversaw met full state accreditation standards; five of those are eligible for state takeover."

And now, the VCU SOE rewards Brandon by dubbing her "Executive in Residence," and gives her a $90,000 contract to develop strategies for successful urban school systems.  Really?

Given that the Virginia Code stipulates at § 2.2-3106 that "No officer or employee of any governmental agency of state government  [… ] shall have a personal interest in a contract with the governmental agency of which he is an officer or employee, other than his own contract of employment,"  I wanted to know if the Dean of the School of Education (SOE) asked for legal guidance or received a waiver/opinion concerning the Virginia Conflict of Interests Act that said it is OK to hire Brandon, the former boss of associate Dean Diane Simon (Beatty)'s husband, Thomas Beatty, and to hire her husband.

To clear up any possible misunderstanding or misperception, I asked Anne L. Buckley, senior director of University Public Affairs office, for a copy of the waiver or legal opinion that allows VCU to do this.  I have yet to receive it.  Perhaps, you will have better luck obtaining this document.

Sincerely,

Carol A.O. Wolf

Former member of

City of Richmond School Board

[2002-2008]