School-Based Teams to Create Individual Plans for Student Remediation
Atlanta Public Schools (APS) will provide ongoing remediation for students impacted by cheating on the 2009 Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT).
In a presentation to the Atlanta Board of Education on June 1, 2015, the District’s Chief Accountability and Information Officer, Bill Caritj, shared that an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) will be created for each of the 3,728 current APS students who were potentially impacted by teacher cheating.
A school-based ILP team will review each identified child’s academic progress and work with the student’s family to develop a plan that meets the student’s needs for progress toward graduation. The ILP team will include the student, parents and appropriate staff at the school.
The goal is to ensure that every student receives proper support for academic success through graduation.
“We want to make sure that all of the identified students receive services that are above and beyond those available to all students,” said Caritj. “We will begin by reviewing each student’s record and then develop a plan that is individualized to meet the student’s needs.”
All ILP meetings and development of individual plans are anticipated to be complete by the end of first semester of the 2015-2016 school year.
Also at the board meeting, Distinguished University Professor Dr. Tim R. Sass, from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, presented an overview of the findings of the independent study on the effects of cheating on the CRCT. APS commissioned the study before the start of the 2014-2015 school year to determine the impact of the cheating on individual students. According to the study, on average, these students experienced long-term negative effects on achievement.
Over the past school year, APS launched districtwide intervention programs in reading and mathematics, unit recovery programs for all students in grades 6 through 12, and flexible scheduling options. While these programs are designed for all students who are not succeeding academically, or who are already out of school or are at risk of dropping out, they are also assisting many of those students who have been impacted by teacher cheating in 2009.
With the release of the Georgia State University report, Superintendent Meria J. Carstarphen said, “It has been a long time in coming, but we finally have the analysis around which students were possibly impacted by the cheating so we can ensure each student has a plan to support their needs.
“This administration, from Day One, has supported a student-centered agenda and is focused on our mission to create a caring culture of trust and collaboration, where every student will graduate ready for college and career.”
The complete study, The Long-Run Effects of Teacher Cheating on Student Outcomes, is available online, as well as the District’s CRCT Erasure Analysis and Ongoing Remediation Update.
