Erwin's academic prowess? Was the Kentucky Board of Education given the straight scoop?

Mark Hebert, of WHAS TV in Louisville, has been looking at the material Ray & Associates gave to the Kentucky Board of Education in support of their selection of Barbara Erwin as Kentucky's new Education Commissioner.

He tells me it gives glowing accounts of Erwin's work in her past three school districts, refers to "her strong interpersonal skills," and says that in every district she has improved test scores.

Fine. They should present the PRO side of her experience.

But did they also present the CON?

Was the board of education warned about the possible downside to an Erwin selection?

Did board members undertake efforts toward due dilligence on their own?

I have not seen this material yet, but requested it over the long weekend. I'll let you know what I find out.
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Much has already been discovered that puts Ray & Associate's glowing accounts of her supposedly strong interpersonal skills into serious doubt. Perhaps even more disturbing than her resume padding is her legacy of division and strife wherever she has been. The general temperament question has been - and continues to be a problem.

The latest round of her embattled career will take place in closed session tonight in St Charles, where District 303 board members will discuss on-going problems with Erwin's contract amendment number 2, the state's attorney's investigation, and "imminent litigation."

It's the kind of strife that seemed to follow her from Allen, Texas; to Scottsdale, Arizona; to St Charles, Illinois; and now to Kentucky. It makes me wonder, does strife follow her - or does she lead it?

The test score improvement claim is more difficult to establish. There are a few reasons for this.

• First, we have a superintendent who hits and runs. Not being in a place for long has a tendency to reduce the impact of any one person.
• Second, in Texas and Illinois (at least), the state changed (many say downgraded) the assessment program in the middle of her tenure. (Texas in the late 90s and Illinois last year.) This had the effect of raising nearly every school's scores. A rising tide lifts all boats. But if Erwin is indeed some kind of academic miracle worker, we ought to be able to find evidence of student achievement that surpasses her peers. To what degree did her accomplishments outstrip gains made simultaneously by all other district?
• Third, her school districts (at a glance) appear to have all been upscale suburban districts that had low percentages of low income students and relatively little diversity. She seems to have thrown a lot of money at problems and contributed a good bit to attorneys fees.