Amid Allegations of Indiana Grade Tampering, Tony Bennett Resigns as Florida's Education Commissioner
Tony Bennett resigned as Florida's education commissioner on Thursday amid news reports that while he was Indiana's schools chief he had ordered an accountability grade to be raised for a charter school run by one of his major donors. (Tom Lobianco of the Associated Press broke the story.)
Scott Elliott, education reform reporter for the Indianapolis Star, provided some context on the emails obtained by the Associated Press which provided the backbone to the investigation. He also had a followup with more about Christel House, and how Bennett's formula might have helped two other schools that received failing grades under Indiana's accountability system during his tenure.
Mike Petrilli, a vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative education policy think tank in Washington, D.C., suggested avoiding a"rush to judgment." From Petrilli's Education Gadfly blog:
Scott Elliott, education reform reporter for the Indianapolis Star, provided some context on the emails obtained by the Associated Press which provided the backbone to the investigation. He also had a followup with more about Christel House, and how Bennett's formula might have helped two other schools that received failing grades under Indiana's accountability system during his tenure.
Mike Petrilli, a vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative education policy think tank in Washington, D.C., suggested avoiding a"rush to judgment." From Petrilli's Education Gadfly blog:
"[Bennett] had spent months (and much political capital) building an A–F accountability system for Indiana’s schools. These systems are as much art as science (more akin to baking cookies than designing a computer), and