10 Things Your School District Won't Tell You

When students at Staten Island’s Susan E. Wagner High School scored well on standardized tests in 2006, parents were obviously pleased—until it appeared that some teachers had tampered with the grades. “It was alleged that various administrative staff, including the principal, directed the faculty to rescore several Regents Examinations,” writes David Abraham, assistant commissioner of the Office of Standards, Assessment, and Reporting at the New York State Education Department. In addition, it was alleged that some scores were changed by faculty after the official scoring procedures had been completed. (Representatives of Susan E. Wagner High declined to comment.)

The motive? High test scores don’t just mean that schools are doing their jobs well; they often translate into cold, hard cash. Starting with the 2006–07 school year, for instance, New York City has been handing out “rewards,” amounting to roughly $30 per student, that can be spent at the school’s discretion. Those schools that score As on their Progress Report—intended to help parents, teachers, and principals understand how well they’re doing—are eligible for such rewards, according to the New York City Department of Education. Says its website: “Schools that get low grades will also face consequences, such as leadership changes or closure.” (Susan E. Wagner High School earned a B on its 2006–07 Progress Report.)

The problem is widespread, according to David Berliner, a Regents professor in the College of Education at Arizona State University. “What they’re doing is tempting people, because higher stakes are involved,” he says. “It’s the principle behind Enron; it’s why athletes take steroids—when the stakes get high, people cut moral corners.”

Say your child consistently earns As in math, but he got only average scores on his eighth-grade standardized math test. Is your kid just a “bad” standardized-test taker? Maybe. “But more likely, he’s just an average math student,” says William L. Bainbridge, president of SchoolMatch in Columbus, Ohio. Welcome to the world of grade inflation, where students can get good marks even when they haven’t fully mastered a subject. “It’s mindboggling to see how often this happens,” says Bainbridge, whose company audits school systems across the country. While looking at some 650 districts nationwide, Bainbridge discovered that roughly 80 percent of them were guilty of grade inflation. The proof: Many schools with students who boasted grade-point averages nearing the perfect 4.0 ranked closer to average on standardized test scores.

The College Board, which administers the SAT, agrees. Since 1997 the percentage of students who report a grade average in the A range (A+, A, A-) has grown from 37 percent to 43 percent, according to a College Board spokesperson. Meanwhile, SAT scores have fallen an average five points on the verbal portion of the test and two points on the math test. The reason for the discrepancy? Grade inflation, says the College Board.

Bob Nunez was concerned that his son’s second-grade teacher “was verbally abusive and demeaning to the kids,” he says. “If a child’s work wasn’t to her liking,” claims the Eagle, Idaho, resident, “she’d pull them out of their seat to the front of the room and yell at them in front of the entire class.” Nunez first went to the elementary school’s guidance counselor, then to the principal. But even after five other parents came forward with similar complaints, school administrators did nothing about the problem teacher, Nunez says. Finally, he and the other parents talked to the district administration. After an investigation, the situation was resolved when the teacher, at her own request, was transferred to another school in the district. Says a district spokesperson, “We acknowledged there may have been concerns, but there was no evidence of wrongdoing.”

“It’s very hard to get rid of a tenured teacher,” says the NSBA’s Floyd, “even if they’re incompetent.” In most states, tenure is earned after a one- to two-year probationary period. Thereafter, districts have to follow a strict procedure before they can fire a teacher. And if that teacher puts up a fight, says Thomas Mooney, a Hartford, Conn., attorney and school-law expert, the district can end up in a costly two- to three-year legal battle. Adding to the difficulty, says Mooney, is the fact that many parents prefer to remain anonymous when it comes to teacher complaints. If you’ve got a concern, go to the teacher first; if you feel the issue won’t be readily resolved, it’s also a good idea to notify (in writing) the principal, the district superintendent, and the school board. In other words, start leaving a long paper trail.

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) legislated that no one but school administrators has the right to peer into your child’s private school records—which include everything from grades and standardized-test scores to psychological evaluations—without your (or your child’s) permission. But as with any major federal law, FERPA allows for several exemptions, such as cases in which there’s an issued court order, or when state or local educational authorities are auditing or evaluating federal- or state-supported educational programs. Also allowed: Financial-aid sources and offices, as well as organizations conducting educational studies, other secondary schools, colleges, teachers, accrediting organizations—and the list goes on—can likewise examine your child’s file without disclosure or your prior consent.

Now, suppose there’s an error in that file. Somebody slipped in a bad evaluation that was intended to go into another file, for instance. Or the school psychologist has written an evaluation you don’t want the whole world to see. Good luck trying to change or remove it. In fact, unlike the groups above, you may have difficulty accessing your child’s entire file, says a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education’s Family Policy Compliance Office, which investigates complaints of FERPA violations. And even if you do get your hands on it, the spokesperson says, “the process can be difficult.” Under FERPA, parents have the right to a hearing if they want to amend something in the file. But if after the hearing the school decides against making the change, there’s nothing else the parents can do.