Despite all the cheering on the blog that APS administrators are now facing justice for their roles in the CRCT cheating scandal, an unresolved issue remains: Why was there so much cheating in APS? (And elsewhere in the country, as uncovered by a later AJC investigation?)
The Georgia CRCTs are not difficult tests. Why was it so difficult to get APS students to score in acceptable ranges?
The indictments in the APS cheating scandal bring us back to the national quandary of how to raise the achievement level of students who historically were never expected to do well, were accorded fewer resources with which to do well, had the most inexperienced teachers and came from homes that lacked the social capital to assist them in school.
The cheating at APS occurred in the schools with the least advantaged populations.
When she came to Atlanta, Beverly Hall said she wanted teachers who believed poor children could do well. (Interesting side point here is that Hall wanted to fire