Michelle Rhee’s Potential DC Cheating Scandal
Michelle Rhee rose to prominence in the education reform ranks thanks in large part to methods that helped raise test scores in the perennially low-scoring Washington D.C. school district she oversaw as chancellor.
Her tough stance on low-performing schools and teachers, which included firing those whose students didn’t measure up on standardized tests, endeared her to reformers like Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.
A Shining Star
Using a merit pay inspired bonus system to spur performance in both teachers and students, Rhee’s reforms seemed to work. Schools like Crosby S. Noyes Education Campus made spectacular gains on the standardized test used by the No Child Left Behind Law to measure student academic growth. In 2006, Noyes ranked in the 10% and was labeled a school “in need of improvement” but two years later ranked 58%