Governor Names Former DeKalb DA Bob Wilson, Former Attorney General Mike Bowers as Special Investigators

Governor Sonny Perdue today announced that he is appointing former DeKalb County District Attorney Bob Wilson and former Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers as Special Investigators to look into testing irregularities on the 2009 CRCT administration at Atlanta Public Schools and Dougherty County School System.

Governor Perdue told the State Board of Education on Wednesday that he would take this step after the reports submitted by Atlanta Public Schools and Dougherty County School System were deemed to be incomplete.

Michael J. Bowers

Michael J. Bowers former Attorney General of Georgia, is a Partner at Balch & Bingham LLC. He joined the firm in September of 1998, concentrating in general civil litigation. He became Partner in January of 2000. Georgia Trend Magazine named Mike as one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians from their beginning in 1990 through 1997 and again in 2003. Mike currently serves as Chairman of the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission. Upon obtaining his law degree, Mike accepted a position with the State of Georgia Attorney General’s Office, where he worked until he was appointed Attorney General of Georgia in 1981. Mike was reelected four times and served as Attorney General until June of 1997, when he resigned from office in order to seek the Republican nomination for Governor. Bowers served in the United States Air Force from 1963-1970, when he joined the Air National Guard, from which he retired in 1997 at the rank of Major General. >From 1994 to 1997, he served as Chair of the National Guard Bureau’s Counterdrug Board in Washington, D.C. Mike and his wife, Bette Rose, are the parents of three grown children and reside in Commerce.

Robert E. “Bob” Wilson 

Bob Wilson received a B.S. degree from the University of North Carolina in 1970 and is a 1974 graduate of Emory University School of Law. In 1978, Wilson was appointed Chief Public Defender for DeKalb County, a position he held until resigning to run for District Attorney. Bob was first elected District Attorney for the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit in 1980 by defeating an incumbent. As District Attorney, Bob was twice re-elected without opposition. While District Attorney, Bob established Georgia’s first Child Abuse Prosecution Unit, first Career Criminal Prosecution Unit as well as one of Georgia’s first Victim Assistance Programs. In 1998 Bob was one of the founders of the firm of Wilson, Morton & Downs, LLC, located in Decatur, where he practices law today. In 1992 Bob was appointed by then Governor Zell Miller as a Special Assistant Attorney General to investigate the business practices in Georgia of Fleet Finance, Inc., a subsidiary of one of America’s largest financial institutions. After conducting one of the most extensive civil investigations ever undertaken by the State of Georgia, Mr. Wilson negotiated a settlement valued in excess of $100 million between the State of Georgia and Fleet Finance. At the time, this settlement was the largest by any state against a single company under an unfair and deceptive acts and practices statute in United States history. During his legal career, Bob has served the State of Georgia and his local community in many capacities and received numerous awards and honors. Bob was co-founder and first Chair of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Center for Children, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides counseling for sexually-abused children (now known as the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy). He was also a founding member of the DeKalb Rape Crisis Center, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides assistance and counseling to adult sexual assault victims, and served as first Chairman of its Board of Directors. Bob is an active volunteer in the Boy Scouts of America and has served on the Executive Board of the Atlanta Area Council since 1983. In 2001 Bob was a founding member of the Decatur Education Foundation for the City Schools of Decatur, a non-profit organization that nurtures and supports enrichment opportunities and educational achievement for children and youth, and served as its first Chair of the Board until the Spring of 2004. Bob and his wife Lynda live in Decatur and have two sons, Alex and Matthew, and a daughter, Sarah Elizabeth.
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State Board Accepts Audit Findings; 4 GA Elementary School Results Invalid

Summer retest scores from 2008 invalidated at four schools

The State Board of Education today accepted the findings of an external audit that the 2008 summer retest results at four Georgia elementary schools were changed and, therefore, are invalid.

The State Board’s unanimous vote directs the Georgia Department of Education to invalidate the 5th Grade summer retest results on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) for the following schools: Deerwood Academy, Atlanta Public Schools; Atherton Elementary, DeKalb County Schools; Parklane Elementary, Fulton County Schools; Burroughs-Molette Elementary, Glynn County.

The action was taken after an audit by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) found that student answer sheets on the fifth-grade mathematics CRCT were changed after the tests were completed but before the forms were sent in for grading. (For more information on the investigation, go to http://www.gaosa.org/news.aspx?mode=LIST)

State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said the action of the Board shows how seriously the state takes the integrity of Georgia’s standardized testing process.

“The Board and I want to send a clear message that cheating will not be tolerated and we will take action, if necessary,” Superintendent Cox said. “Ultimately, the ones who are hurt by cheating are the students.”

However, Superintendent Cox emphasized that the overwhelming majority of schools administer state tests honestly and in full compliance with state and federal law.

“The vast majority of educators are highly ethical and deeply concerned with following the rules,” she said. “While any cheating is cause for concern, I am confident it is not a widespread issue and that we have a valid, trustworthy testing program in Georgia.”

By accepting the findings of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement’s audit, the State Board empowered the GaDOE to take the following actions:

1. Invalidate the 2008 CRCT 5th Grade retest scores at the four schools;
2. Since the four schools involved only made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) due to these retest results, the 2008 AYP determinations for these schools will be changed to “did not meet;”
3. Begin the process of recovering any money these schools received as rewards for academic achievement under the Title I Distinguished Schools program;
4. Require the school systems to notify parents of students whose test scores were altered
5. Request that the middle schools these students now attend implement an individualized support plan for affected students who continue to struggle with mathematics. The GOSA audit found that less than half of the affected students passed the math CRCT this past year in sixth grade.

The Georgia Department of Education has a process for addressing concerns about test security and allegations of cheating and will continue to work closely with the GOSA on the identification and investigation of statistical “outliers.” The GaDOE will also continue to train educators and administrators on the proper way to administer state tests.

Additionally, the Georgia Department of Education will look at ways, within existing budget resources, to broaden its process for flagging schools that show statistically improbable gains.
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CRCT Scores Increase in All Areas‏

Test scores for Georgia’s elementary and middle school students improved in all areas this year, but most dramatically in the crucial subjects of mathematics and science.

Students posted gains on all 14 of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) in mathematics and science, all of which are aligned to Georgia’s more rigorous curriculum.

“The 2009 CRCT results are very encouraging and show that our students are learning more advanced concepts and are able to apply that knowledge properly,” said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. “Our elementary and middle school teachers should feel very proud today – they are getting the job done!”

The biggest one-year gain on any of the CRCTs was in eighth-grade math: The pass rate was 70 percent, an increase of eight percentage points.

“Our new grade 8 math curriculum is very rigorous, but our teachers and students are embracing the rigor and are making tremendous progress,” Superintendent Cox said. “Even more encouraging is the rise in the number of students who are scoring at higher levels on the exam.” The percentage of grade 8 students scoring in the “exceeds” category also jumped eight points to 23 percent.

The CRCTs are curriculum-based tests given to students in grades 1-8 in the subjects of reading, English language arts, mathematics and – in grades 3-8 – science and social studies. As Georgia has rolled out its new curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards, more rigorous tests have been created and administered. This year, for the first time, all the CRCTs are aligned to the new curriculum. The statewide results are reported in three categories – the percentage of students that did not meet standards, met standards or exceeded standards.

Other highlights from the 2009 CRCT report include:

* A five (5) percentage point jump in the pass rate for science in grades 3 and 5. In third grade, 80 percent of the students met or exceeded standards on the science CRCT and in fifth grade 76 percent.
* Reading and English language arts performance remained high and improved in almost every grade, with 89 percent of seventh-graders meeting standards on both tests. In sixth-grade, the pass rate was 90 percent in reading and 91 percent in English.
* This is the first year students in grades 3-5 took the social studies CRCT aligned to the new curriculum. The pass rate was over 70 percent for each grade.

Closing the Gap

When the results of the 2009 CRCT are broken down, it’s clear that students in Georgia’s largest subgroups continue to make tremendous progress.

“Scores are rising for all students,” said Superintendent Cox, “but our English Language Learner, African-American and Hispanic students are improving faster than the rest of the state and are closing the achievement gap. There is still work to be done, but the progress is undeniable.”

Among the highlights of the 2009 CRCT report:

* English Language Learners (ELL) made dramatic gains in mathematics. The pass rate for ELLs jumped 11 points in one year on the third- and fifth-grade math CRCT and eight points in grade 8 mathematics.
* Since the roll out of the state’s new curriculum, African-American students have closed the achievement gap on almost every test when compared to the performance of Caucasian students. For example, in just three years, the gap has closed nine points in fifth-grade science and eight points in seventh-grade mathematics.
* Hispanic students are closing the achievement gap faster than any other group when compared to the performance of Caucasian students. In just three years, Hispanic students have closed the gap 12 percentage points in third-grade science and over the past four years have closed the gap 12 points in grade 5 English language arts.

Promotion/Retention

Scores went up in all grades and content areas where students must pass to automatically be promoted to the next grade level.

State law requires that students in third, fifth and eighth grade meet or exceed expectations on the CRCT in reading in order to be promoted. Fifth and eighth grade students must also meet or exceed expectations on the CRCT in mathematics.

Results from the 2009 CRCT report:

* Third-grade scores increased one (1) percentage point from last year to 88% in reading.
* Fifth-grade scores increased one (1) percentage point from last year to 88% in reading, and seven (7) percentage points to 79% in mathematics.
* Eighth-grade scores increased two (2) percentage points from last year to 93% in reading, and eight (8) percentage points to 70% in mathematics.

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Early Intervention Program Helps Struggling Readers

A Georgia State University reading program has been shown to help struggling readers defy the “fourth-grade slump” – a time in later elementary school when many students can have difficulty with reading.

In a recent study, GSU professors found that students who participated in a university program called Reading Recovery consistently achieved or exceeded expectations on the reading portion of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT).

Even more impressive, these students were identified as the lowest performing readers and writers in first grade but outperformed their peers by the fourth grade.

“Rather than slipping back, they continued to move forward,” said Floretta Thornton-Reid, executive director of Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative programs in GSU’s College of Education. ”This study reaffirms the power of Reading Recovery and the power of early intervention.”

Through Reading Recovery, children receive 30-minute daily lessons taught by specially trained teachers for 12-20 weeks. The one-on-one tutoring sessions include reading instruction on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension that supplement classroom lessons.

The GSU study looked at 1,574 children who participated in the Reading Recovery program and compared their performance on the reading comprehension portion of CRCT to 31,271 peers. The students were in grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 in metro Atlanta county schools.

“We asked, ‘Do the children continue to make adequate progress?’ And the answer is yes, they are continuing to perform,” said Susan Duncan, director of Reading Recovery at Georgia State.
GSU is a regional training center for educators in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Bermuda. Teacher leaders come to the university to learn the Reading Recovery program and then go back to their schools and train teachers in their systems.

Over the last decade, GSU has trained 66 teacher leaders and served more than 47,000 students. Teachers say the program makes a big difference in their student’s academic performance.

“Reading Recovery breaks the cycle of failure because struggling students don’t have to wait until third or fourth grade to get help from special education,” said Mary Sangerster, a teacher leader for Habersham County School system. “The percentage of students who pass the CRCT goes up every year after they’ve received this intervention.”

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CRCT Results Show Progress

Student performance is rising and the achievement gap is closing in every area where the state's new curriculum has been implemented for more than one year.

The official statewide results of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) were released today and show improvement across the board on the 25 exams that have been aligned to the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) for two or three years.

"These results provide further proof that our teachers are doing a great job implementing our new curriculum and should be commended for their hard work," Superintendent Cox said. "It also shows that when you raise expectations, Georgia students will rise up and meet that higher bar in all areas."

Among the highlights of the report:

- Mathematics, grade 7: The pass rate was 80 percent, an increase of six points in one year.
- Science, grade 7: Seventy-five (75) percent of students passed the science CRCT, an increase of 12 points in two years.
- Reading, all grades: Eighty-seven (87) percent or more of students in all grades passed the reading CRCT and the pass rate increased in all areas.

Achievement Gap is Closing

Even as student achievement increased in all racial subgroups, the achievement gap between minority students and white students closed in all areas where the GPS has been in place for more than one year.

"Student achievement is improving for all of our students, but our African-American and Hispanic students are making substantial progress each year under our new standards," Superintendent Cox said. "We still have a long way to go, but I know if this trend continues, Georgia can be one of the first states in the union to erase the achievement gap."

Among the highlights of the score report:

- Reading, grade 4: The pass rates for African-American (81%) and Hispanic (83%) students have increased 11 points respectively in two years. The achievement gap has closed 8 points for each group.
- Mathematics, grade 7: The pass rates for African-American (70%) and Hispanic (77%) students increased 8 points respectively in one year. The achievement gap closed 5 points in each area.
- Science, grade 7: The pass rates for African-American (62%) and Hispanic (69%) students have increased 15 points and 16 points respectively in two years. The achievement gap has closed by 6 or more points.

Performance on New Tests

In 2008, there were eight CRCTs that were aligned to the GPS for the first time - mathematics in grades 3-5 and 8; science in grade 8 and social studies in grades 6-8.

The results of these tests are not comparable to last year, when the test was aligned to the old curriculum. In each case, the new test was more rigorous and required higher order thinking.

"These results give us a new, realistic baseline to work from," said Superintendent Cox. "We are holding our students to a higher standard so that when they get their diploma it will mean they are truly ready for the demands of the 21st century."

Seventy-two (72) percent of 5th graders and 62 percent of 8th graders passed the new GPS-aligned CRCT in mathematics. In science, about 60 percent of 8th graders passed the new CRCT.

"While these are not the type of results we have seen in the past, these pass rates are more in line with what we are seeing on national assessments," Superintendent Cox said.

"As a state, we must face the reality that our students need more advanced mathematics and science skills to be successful in the 21st century," she said. "If we don't raise standards in these and other core areas, we are doing a disservice to our students and our state."

The results of the grade 6 and 7 social studies exams were invalidated due to alignment issues on the test. Groups of educators and curriculum experts have made preliminary revisions to the curriculum in these areas. These revisions will be made available for public comment by the end of the week.