2009.09.03
SOL scandal at Eastern Montgomery High School
We're writing our Sunday NRV Current editorial today about the SOL scandal at Eastern Montgomery High School. The State Department of Education conducted an investigation into attempts to rig SOL results and concluded that then-principal Nelson Simpkins improperly shifted poorly performing students around so they would not drag down the school's scores. (Read the 8-page report.)
In our editorial, we will urge the school system to take swift and severe action against Simpkins, who is now the supervisor of secondary education. He should be fired. If leaders do not have the courage to take that step, at least he should be suspended while further internal investigations are underway. And part of any additional analysis should include looking at what system administrators knew and when.
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I have known Mr. Simpkins for many years. He was principal when my oldest son began middle school in Shawsville and he went with the kids to the new East Mont school when it was finished. My son's class was the first 9th grade class in the new school and his class was the 4th class to graduate there. Mr. Simpkins has always been a good and fair man and IMO, people need to just sit back and shut their mouths.
If Mr. Simpkins is to go down for something like this, something that he thought was the right thing to do, then there should be many, many more principals, assistant principals and teachers that need to go down as well. If Mr. Simpkins was shifting schedules for some students, then the teachers of those students should have known what was going on, legal or not. The teachers are suppose to be making sure that the students are learning well enough to pass these stupid tests, what happened there???
What I would like to see is some of these 'law' makers and the DOE pesonnell take these SOL tests and see how well they do.
Comment by Robin — September 3, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
Robin, if you read the article in the paper today, you'll see at least one other principal in trouble for manipulating the SOLs too.
Comment by Kristen — September 4, 2009 @ 8:09 am
It is apparent from today’s article that Montgomery County Public Schools is circling its wagons to protect one of the good-old boys. The fact that seems to be missing from Shannon and Jones’ calculations is that Simpkins deprived students of their opportunity to a full educational experience. This is a moral outrage and flies in the face of anybody involved in education. Rita Bishop in Roanoke City reacted promptly and appropriately in placing all individuals on administrative leave pending investigation. Simpkins needs to be removed as well as any others involved. The curious other fact is the only other person specifically implicated in the DOE report (the Guidance Counselor) has already resigned from her position.
Comment by Seth Ross — September 4, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
All schools need to be evaluated, regarding tactics.
I am neither supporting, nor denying probable poor decision-making, RE: Simpkins.
Principals at some Montgomery County high schools and middle schools are treating some teachers gruffly, as of late.
Teachers that are willing to discuss probable improprieties are targeted with extreme mandates, for example.
Let alone the allegations listed in the article, there's a lot to be changed.
Same-day testing must be mandated, statewide. Counties cannot deny that when all schools within their districts test on differing days that it is very assumable that imformation may be transmitted.
Cell-phone 'photo ops' and special-education teacher access to 'same' tests (extended viewing ops) that are administered to non-readers are the same as the other students' tests; the possibilites of cheating are endless.
No wonder innovativeness and creativeness, used in the wrong venue, is smearing school systems.
There will be a lot of illegalities found, if anyone cares to investigate. Local administrators, such as superintendents, should not make their own decisions about personnel changes due to cheating by some.
Perhaps it's time for '3rd party' intervention. Private, outside agencies might be hired. Interviews and documentation of various information would disclose many improper activities.
It seems that crimes have been committed in some districts. Why isn't law-enforcement involved? Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that such important testing (like it or not) is within the legal arena, when rules are violated.
The schools are public institutions. Violators should be prosecuted, let alone dismissed. The current level of reactions are under-reactions, quited by some administrators.
There must be a way to stop good 'ole boy-girl control.
Comment by Know Nothing — September 6, 2009 @ 12:25 am