Carver!

Editor’s Note: John Butcher and I repeatedly wrote about and asked, even begged, current and former Richmond School Board members and former Superintendents to look into the scores that Carver Elementary had been posting since at least 2014.
While we loved the myth of the inner-city scrappy school that was besting other more affluent schools, we feared the numbers were bogus. We also knew that the problem had to do with the adults in the building -- not the students. Finally, it took presenting our data to the current Supt. Jason Kamras, to finally get someone investigate.

As the school system struggles mightily with huge issues, we have remained focused on this issue and have asked Supt. Jason Kamras for follow-up information concerning what remediation steps have been taken to help the children who were unwitting pawns -- and clearly harmed -- by this shameful cheating scandal. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, take a look at what the scores were once RPS removed the people within Carver who were cheating and intellectually abusing the children. ~ Carol A.O. Wolf 

By John R. Butcher
August 16, 2019 by cranky 

The 2019 data for Carver were missing from the database when VDOE posted on Tuesday. They fixed that Thursday afternoon.

Because of the cheating by the Principal and some of the teachers, there are no Carver data for 2018. As well, because of the very large population of economically disadvantaged students (“ED”), the suppression rules frequently operate as to the data for the more affluent (“Not ED”) students. That leads to some funny looking graphs, but here goes anyhow:

The pattern is clear: Excellent, but bogus, pass rates before 2018; dismal, but believable, rates in 2019.The red line is the nominal benchmark for accreditation.(In retrospect, it looks to me like our former Superintendent knew, or at least suspected, that the Carver numbers were bogus but elected to enjoy them anyhow.)The History & Social Science data tell an even more terrible story as to the ED students.

The math pattern is similar and includes another Not ED datum for 2019.

The science data hark back to History & Social Science.

These data imply:
The fifth grade students of 2018 are now in middle school and are grossly unprepared to do the work there;
The fifth grade students of at least three earlier years went to middle school grossly unprepared to do the work there.
After a year under an honest (we hope!) regime at Carver, the fifth grade students of 2019 will enter middle school this fall grossly unprepared to do the work there;
The General Assembly did not do its job. 

As to that last point, Va. Code § 22.1-292.1 provides, in part:
§ 22.1-292.1. Violations related to secure mandatory tests.

A. The Board of Education may (i) issue written reprimand to or (ii) suspend or revoke the administrative or teaching license of any holder of a Board-issued administrative or teaching license who knowingly and willfully commits any of the following acts related to secure mandatory tests administered to students as required by this title or by the Board of Education:

1. Giving unauthorized access to secure test questions; 
2. Copying or reproducing all or any portion of any secure test booklet;3. Divulging the contents of any portion of a secure test;4. Coaching or assisting examinees during testing or altering test materials or examinees’ responses in any way;5. Making available any answer keys;6. Failing to follow test security procedures established by the Department of Education;7. Providing a false certification on any test security form required by the Department of Education;8. Retaining a copy of secure test questions;9. Excluding students from testing who are required to be assessed; and10. Participating in, directing, aiding, assisting in, or encouraging any of the acts prohibited by this section.

Va. Code § 22.1-292 provides:
§ 22.1-292. Penalties on officers and teachers. Any division superintendent, member of a school board or other school officer or any principal or teacher in a public school violating any provision of this title shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor if no other penalty is prescribed. 

There is room to argue that the testing violations of § 292.1 are not covered by the penalty provisions of § 292. In any case, the maximum penalty for a Class 4 misdemeanor is a fine of $250(!). 

The principal and teachers who supervised and participated in this assault on the students at Carver belong in jail. Or at least in stocks with baskets of tomatoes furnished to the parents of those students and to the honest teachers of Richmond whose reputations have been smeared by this outrage.