Beware Their Cheating Hearts: Part Two – The Special-Ed Hustle
By Carol A.O. Wolf and John Butcher • Oct 28th, 2009 • Category: Education, Feature
Its bad enough many teachers and parents complain our public schools merely ‘teach to the test,’ and rather then develop the academic skills necessary to become life long learners and productive citizens, our children instead learn how best to pass the Standards of Learning tests. But far worse, a dramatic increase in over-identification and misidentification of some children as ‘special education’ has left some teachers, parents and even retired administrators fearing state-wide, systematic cheating on the SOLs.
Here’s how it works: Children deemed in need of ‘special education’ are eligible to take less rigorous versions of the SOLs. Tests, teachers say, are given over and over until the student comes up with the right answer.
Since special education and the rights of children and families with disabilities have long been close to my heart, I decided to find out if what I was hearing could be true. To begin the process of sifting fact from fiction, I asked for information from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and Richmond Public Schools (RPS).
Once the data started flowing in from VDOE, I was so stunned I had to ask my friend John Butcher, a retired attorney and a former chemistry professor at Hampden-Sydney College, to help analyze and investigate. We spent a month-plus crunching numbers and asking questions. To see his detailed charts and analysis of what we have found so far, click here.
The many who expressed their concerns are not without justification.
Since 2004-2005 when Virginia first allowed school districts to administer the Virginia Grade Level Alternative Assessment (VGLA) - a test designed for children who can master the material but have a disability that prevents them from taking the multiple choice SOL - the number of VGLA tests administered to children in grades three to eight sky-rocketed, from a mere 2,031 to 47,113.
During this time, the number of tests administered to children in the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) – a test for children in grades three through eight and 11 who can master the material, but have significant cognitive disabilities that prevent their taking the SOLs – has also grown, from 15,401 to 24,002.
By adding the number of VAAP and VGLA tests – tests for children with disabilities significant enough to be excused from taking the regular SOLs – you find that nearly 70,000 were administered. At the same time, the Virginia Substitute Evaluation Program (VSEP), available on essentially the same basis as the VGLA but in high school, has languished at 331.
That’s right: 47,113 VGLA tests but only 331 VSEP.
Unless the miraculous properties of Virginia water cure disabilities after the eighth grade, something is rotten here. That something is the grading: Schools grade their own VGLA tests but the State grades the VSEP. On the VAAP, schools can replace the SOL standards with their own. So while the VGLA and the VAAP provide useful tools to inflate SOL scores, the VSEP does not.
If you think the schools wouldn’t cheat or the State wouldn’t let them, just read what the teachers say.
Virginia’s SOLs aren’t simply about measuring how well our children, in or out of special education, do in public school. The SOLs are supposed to measure how well the teacher, school, school district and state perform. Yet here we have the schools cooking the numbers to inflate their own SOL scores. And if the schools’ problems are intentionally disguised and distorted, how can we expect to identify, let alone fix those problems?
As to the kids, the dramatic jump in the number of VGLA and VAAP tests will no doubt reap long-term negative results. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to see that being labeled as disabled profoundly affects a child’s sense of self or that being misidentified as a child with a disability can create lifelong distrust and anger. Add to this the humiliation and frustration of parents who can’t get the needed services for their children because administrators are too busy gaming the system.
We know that the Standards of Learning and the No Child Left Behind Act created high hurdles. It is not acceptable, however, that the response has been to make liars of schools administrators at all levels, to deprive school systems of the usefulness of true measures of performance and to skew the use of resources in public schools.
Carol A.O. Wolf and John Butcher Carol A.O. Wolf served on the City of Richmond Public School Board from 2002-2008 and was considered by many to be the city’s premier advocate on behalf of Richmond’s public schoolchildren. She fought the hardest for disability rights and ADA compliance, was pushed under the bus by her fellow school board members for daring to speak forcefully on behalf of school accountability and basic common sense, and went to war with city and school administrators for failing to place valuable resources where they belong… in the classroom.
Wolf was elected in 2008 by RVANews.com as the second most popular politician in Richmond (Governor Tim Kaine finished first).
Wolf is a former print journalist who has worked for The Denver Post, Jack Anderson's "Merry-Go-Round" in Washington, D.C., The Richmond News Leader and Style Weekly. She is the mother of three, grandmother of two, and wife, still, of the finest man in Richmond.
John Butcher was teaching chemistry at Hampden-Syndey when he received The Call. As John tells it: “I had been in science for ten years. I knew about the truth. I wanted to go to law school and learn about advantage.”
Upon receiving a J.D. from the University of Virginia, John joined the staff of Attorney General Marshall Coleman as an Assistant Attorney General. Over the following 23 years he wound up as the Senior Assistant Attorney General responsible for bankruptcy matters and all major litigation for the Natural Resources Section.
In the spring of 2002 John looked at a calendar and noticed they had named a day for him. So he retired on April 1. John reports that he now sleeps later in the morning and none of his former clients can automatically say: “My lawyer is uglier than your lawyer.”
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If the conclusions and data are sound, this is a telling indictment of our educational system. This matter should be investigated by the state and perhaps other appropriate authorities. Where are our media and political leaders? Wow.
ehhh.. I need to see more… is this a problem systemic across Virginia or is this a Richmond problem?
There’s a website called SchoolDatadirect.org that can help sort this out but I’d like to see some specifics – on a statewide basis.
I have some personal knowledge – a wife that teaches and I spend time looking at SOL scores as well as comparisons with other states via the NAEP testing. At my wifes school kids ARE sent off to special classes for their specific but non-handicapped issue. If a kid is not on grade-level for say, English – they find out where the problem is and they get him some help so he can get back non grade level. This is what you DO want to DO to help those kids ESPECIALLY the ones with normal IQs .. to NOT get left behind.. which is what we have been doing prior to NCLB and the SOLS.
These kids go back to their normal class for the things they are on-grade on – so there is no stigma as many of the kids for one reason or another get to do something “special”.
Also – if we have this problem, and you’ve not convinced me yet, then what is the fix?
We rank about 12th in the world on achievement in reading, math and science. Our kids are competing for world class jobs – and right now they are losing because they are not getting the curriculum that they need to succeed.
If we have a problem with people gaming the system, let’s properly identify it and fix it but let’s not use it as a proxy for undermining the intent of the SOLs and NCLB.
There are schools across VA right now that have significant economically disadvantaged kids that do very well on the SOLs. Then we have other schools that do not and we do need to address this because, folks… if we don’t then YOUR kids is going to grow up to pay taxes for the other kids who don’t grow up with enough education to be self reliant, a contributing taxpayer and not an inmate.
I”m not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg here, but it’s clear we have eggshells and feathers painting the walls.
Standardized testing was initially conceived as a performance metric. But like any standardized measure instituted by a bureaucracy, it’s turned into a “how do we game the system” pattern dance. Teaching kids to regurgitate material specifically to pass a performance test has become the goal of the state’s entire education system.
Education and memorization are not in opposition – but making the test the focus, rather than the acquired knowledge, makes cluster-dances like the one outlined above possible.
Ed, Larry & Casey,
Thanks for your comments. Be sure and click on the link in the story that will take you to John’s website. There’s plenty of proof sitting right there. In the next commentary, John and I will discuss how much this hustle costs in monetary and moral terms. We will also provide some best practices information about what has worked in other places to bring greater accountability and true reform. Thanks once again for you comments. Please forward this along to other readers so we can gather more questions and comments. ~ Carol
will do and thanks.
re “memorization”
Standardized testing does NOT have to be about memorization at all.
It can measure PROFICIENCY and it SHOULD.
let me direct all here to the NAEP website that DEFINES proficiency:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/Reading/achieveall.asp
Basic
(208) Fourth-grade students performing at the Basic level should demonstrate an understanding of the overall meaning of what they read. When reading text appropriate for fourth-graders, they should be able to make relatively obvious connections between the text and their own experiences and extend the ideas in the text by making simple inferences.
Proficient
(238) Fourth-grade students performing at the Proficient level should be able to demonstrate an overall understanding of the text, providing inferential as well as literal information. When reading text appropriate to fourth grade, they should be able to extend the ideas in the text by making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making connections to their own experiences. The connection between the text and what the student infers should be clear.
Advanced
(268) Fourth-grade students performing at the Advanced level should be able to generalize about topics in the reading selection and demonstrate an awareness of how authors compose and use literary devices. When reading text appropriate to fourth grade, they should be able to judge text critically and, in general, to give thorough answers that indicate careful thought.
Then take yourself to:
The NAEP proficiency results for Grade 4 in Virginia:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/stt2007/2007497VA4.pdf
where you will find that Virginia’s SOLs rank kids much higher in proficiency than the NAEP – which is a world standard.
Simply stated – when you look into this – Virginia Kids are NOT getting world class educations and this does not bode well for the future in terms of being able to effectively compete for world class jobs.
this has a very direct impact on the health and welfare – economic well-being of places like NoVa and if you think about it RoVa.
If we have folks gaming the system – there is a simple answer – perform the institutional equivalent of ripping them an new one.
but again.. I am suspicious that such reporting is or can be used as a proxy for undermining the intent and purpose of standardized testing and standardized curricula.
You CAN MEASURE the result of teaching kids to THINK – look at those NAEP standards for proficiency.
Characterizing standardized testing as a futile exercise in memorization that ignores “learning” is – I’m looking for some polite words here – … not very informed.
I urge folks to become informed on this issue and to do more than listen to sound-bite ideas.
Your kids are going to grow up flipping burgers and being WalMart cash register operators if they do not get an education that allows them to compete for world jobs.
it’s as simple as that.
When you hear someone promising to be a “Jobs” Governor – keep in mind – that indeed – it’s not just about money – it’s about measuring… and the willingness to WANT to measure.
Thanks John and Carol for putting the spotlight on this problem. I am with a group in Fairfax County that is trying to examine the issues. The school system is very defensive of the VGLA and has no concerns whatsoever at the 100% pass rates and how it is artificially inflated the overall “pass rates” at our schools-particularly the high poverty schools. I want to know what impact these cooked numbers have on the Title 1 schools. If the school system can now show AYP is met with these false pass rates, will these kids lose some NCLB mandated services like tutoring and school choice?
I also am looking into the high numbers of LEP kids labeled Level 1 and 2. Who is monitoring this? Most kids enter school here in kindergarten. Why are they still level 1 or 2 in 4th and 5th grade? It seems the schools want to squeeze the 3 VGLA test years out of them.
Great job!
If they twist the data in this way, how can we possibly determine if our special education programs are effective or not?
Apparently, PWC has twice as many special ed kids doing VGLA folders over last year. It’s deceptive to point to these results as proof that their program is working. I want to see a breakdown of VGLA/SOL results vs. regular SOL scores, that will provide a more accurate performance indicator. Can you tell me how to go about doing that?
doing a little more checking… and there is apparently something afoot with relaxing the participation for accommodation but this article seems to be mainly about the Richmond Schools and the data provided via the link is pretty convincing…. I agree.
I think if Richmond has managed to use this in a way not intended then without change… this practice could potentially spread and become more systemic.
If this net result of this practice is essentially and “end around” the NLCB … especially the part about leaving kids behind.. then the schools that engage in this… need to have a ton of bricks come down on them.. and everyone else needs to know about it to put out a warning that innovating creative ways to leave kids behind is going to end up being a very uncomfortable endeavor for the schools, principles and teachers who are tempted in this way.
thanks for the article …
This is a huge problem. It is a disservice to special needs students, for it avoids any accountability measure, and it is disrespectful to teachers, who are forced to build “winning” portfolios that misrepresent their students’ abilities. It is also a vast waste of instructional time.
The teachers ARE playing to the letter the rules, for the most part – nothing says you can’t give the same worksheet again and again until it is right – but we all know that worksheet does not represent the student, and it shows no real evidence of education that can be applied, retained and generalized. Surely this wasn’t the intent of NCLB.
Until the superintendents of major school districts, such as Fairfax County, step up, speak out and refuse to take part in this, it will continue. If every school district in the state refused to VGLA kids who are clearly below grade level, someone would take notice and work toward appropriate progress measures, rather than having to choose tests of benchmarks that are unreasonable vs. creating a false picture of these kids.
The Washington Post is looking at this issue now and is very interested in taking to teachers – or retired teachers who can speak more freely. Perhaps high school teachers can talk about how they deal with students who pass VGLA but can’t read or write. We need whistleblowers.
Pick up the phone and call the education reporters at The Washington Post if you are willing to speak up. Don’t let this continue.
To PWC Resident -
Good for you for noticing that districts do not report VGLA results vs. regular SOL results. You might find some breakdown in state reports. Generally, VGLA pass rates are as high as SOL rates – or higher. More and more often, pass rates are 100%. That’s right – the students in special education are outperforming the students in regular ed!
Try asking your school principal or your district testing office and see what they say.
SOLs aren’t good measures for many children, but VGLAs are a farce.
PWC Resident et al.,
The VDOE has data for the past three years for any school, division, or the state here:
https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/reportcard/
If you need data farther back (or if you want to break out the LEP (non-English speaking) population in the VGLA, call Chuck Pyle at VDOE and try to negotiate something that won’t make them work so hard they’ll need to charge you for it.
You guys are 100% correct. PWC County’s Special Education students are passing SOLs at a higher and more advanced rate than All Students and higher than all subgroups. The jump over the past year is UNBELIEVABLE. Special Ed students went from having one of the highest failure rates last year to the lowest failure rate in 2008-09.
How do other school districts that aren’t participating in this farce feel about this?
I’m not from Virginia, but I come from a state where many schools are engaging in a process of putting kids through interventions funded by the federal government via the Individuals with Disabilities Act (known as the “IDEA”), then their parents are being told that they don’t qualify for an IEP under the IDEA (an IEP under the IDEA would be federally funded), but they qualify to be placed on a 504 plan (a federal plan but one that is not federally funded, but school districts in my state are reimbursed by the State for 504 plan accomodations and modifications), and then tons of kids are placed on 504 plans with testing accomodations and voila! these districts playing these games are making AYP across the board at every school in every subgroup year after year!!!!!
These schools then have the audacity to brag about how Response to Intervention is reducing the number of kids served by Special Ed, as “Special Ed” is touted as only those students with IEPs under the IDEA when in fact the eligibility criteria to be on a 504 plan requires a disability or even just merely a suspected disability (which gives the schools much leeway to put loads of kids on these plans).
I’m just curious – is there a 504 plan connection to these Alternative Assessment tests in your great state of Virginia?
It isn’t the curriculum that is failing the kids. It is the gene pool. I have worked in private and public education for ten years. My private school had a much weaker curriculum than the Virginia SOLs…. but, the kids came from upper class families, and therefore were “predestined” to succeed. Teaching special ed in a public school, I have students whose parents write me notes with incorrect grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. When the majority of my fifth grade class does not have an adult at home who understands their math homework, or can help them write a paragraph, how is it the fault of the schools, or the curriculum? Unfortunately, in many cases, the apple does not fall far from the tree.