Foundation Criticizes CRCT Report

By Charles Edwards

Atlanta, GA – A watchdog group is pushing the state to throw out a report on possible cheating in Atlanta public schools.

Meanwhile, the state is urging APS to broaden its investigation into severe cases of erasures on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test. The Blue Ribbon Commission investigated cheating allegations and created the report. Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation executive director Barbara Payne says the state shouldn't use it.

"The information is out there," Payne said. "We just need an official entity that's much more trustworthy than the Blue Ribbon Commission is to get that information and make it public."

Foundation executive director Barbara Payne's main argument is conflict of interest. The commission included Atlanta School Board chair LaChandra Butler Burks and Gary Price. Price works for PriceWaterhouseCoopers which has worked with APS in the past.

"You can't have people on a board or a commission that's meant to do an investigation who already have ties to the organization. It doesn't make any logical sense," Payne said.

That's why she wants the state to conduct its own forensic audit of the CRCT answer sheets in question. Kathleen Mathers is executive director of the Governor's office of student achievement. She says she just got the report Monday afternoon.

"And we have not yet formed specific opinions about whether or not the investigation was thorough enough, whether or not a report needs to be thrown out, whether or not appropriate next steps have been identified," Mathers said.

Meanwhile, APS Superintendent Beverly Hall is moving forward. Hall told WABE the report puts the greatest focus on 12 of Atlanta's public schools.

"We're not saying we're going to ignore the 12," Hall said. "But, we have to put it the context of the district as a whole."

But that greatly concerns Kathleen Mathers.

"We highlighted 58 schools that needed to be investigated and we want to make sure that has happened thoroughly at all 58 schools," Mathers said. "Children in one
school do not deserve less of an investigation than children in another school."

Mathers has not set a timeline. But she says she's reviewing the commission's report as quickly as possible.