Rhee now concedes students’ test answers may have been erased
Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee backed away Wednesday from her vehement criticism of aUSA Today story on concerns about standardized tests during her tenure, acknowledging that some cheating may have occurred.
Alan Diaz / AP - Michelle Rhee, shown in January, has become a major national figure in education reform since her resignation last October.
In an interview with Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews, Rhee said that some of her initial comments were “stupid.”
“You have got to have really strong test-security protocols at the district level and at the state level,” said Rhee, who contacted Mathews. “The vast majority of people will not cheat, but there will be exceptions here and there.”
Rhee, who was chancellor from 2007 to 2010, said the school system should ensure that after students complete D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System tests, answer sheets are not left in school offices where they may be vulnerable to tampering.
The issue emerged Monday when USA Today reported unusually high rates of erasures on answer sheets in more than 100 D.C. public schools from 2008 to 2010. At some schools, wrong answers were replaced by correct ones at rates too high to be random, according to statisticians consulted by the paper.
Rhee said in a statement Monday evening that USA
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