Ex-D.C. schools chief '100%' behind test scores probe

By Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

Michelle Rhee, then-D.C. public schools chancellor, talks to third-grader Kmone Feeling at J.O. Wilson Elementary School on Aug. 23.

EnlargeCloseBy Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

Michelle Rhee, then-D.C. public schools chancellor, talks to third-grader Kmone Feeling at J.O. Wilson Elementary School on Aug. 23.

In a taped interview to air this weekend on Bloomberg Radio, Rhee, a national figure in education reform, said she "absolutely" supports the decision to investigate high rates of answer changes on standardized tests during her tenure. "If there were isolated instances of this, those should be dealt with properly and we should actually discount those scores in those classrooms," Rhee said in the interview, according to a press release issued by Bloomberg.

D.C.: Digging deeper into test score irregularitiesREVIEW: Score gains called 'plausible'The USA TODAY investigation, part of a national examination of standardized testing, found that D.C. public schools showed statistically improbable rates of changed answers— from wrong answers to right ones — on student tests from 2008 to 2010, during Rhee's time as schools chief. The high test scores earned Rhee and the school system national recognition, but some teachers and parents interviewed by USA TODAY said the abilities of students didn't always match their high test scores.

On Monday, when USA TODAY published its investigation, Rhee released a statement that USA TODAY's story was "an insult to the dedicated teachers and schoolchildren who worked hard to improve their academic achievement levels."

TESTING: USA TODAY's investigationDOCUMENTS: A look into years of testingAlthough Rhee has given interviews to PBS, The Indianapolis Star and Bloomberg Radio, she has not agreed to be interviewed by USA TODAY, despite more than a dozen requests that included an offer this week to interview her in Columbus, Ohio, where Rhee was meeting with state officials.

Rhee told Bloomberg that "the vast majority of teachers in our system ... would never think to do anything like that. Can I guarantee that every single person held that same high standard? No, I can't." The full interview is scheduled to first air today at 10 p.m.

Acting D.C. schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson called on D.C.'s inspector general Tuesday to review district test scores from 2009, one of the years that USA TODAY examined. That year, district officials brought in an outside firm, Caveon Test Security, to investigate testing issues at eight schools. The company found no evidence of cheating but has said it could have gone deeper with its data analysis.

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