Personal About Politics: Greed and Fraud from Kindergarten to College

 
Right on the heels of the financial aid scandal at the university level, comes more disturbing news.  John Higgins, the Education Department’s inspector general, has asked the Justice Department to investigate Reading First, the Bush administration’s $6 billion program, which provides grants to teach reading to poor children in kindergarten through third grade.

It was disclosed at a congressional hearing recently that people implementing the $1 billion-a-year program made at least $1 million off textbooks and tests toward which the federal government steered states.

The alarm was sounded last year by educators and education organizations alike, all dissatisfied with the program, which is part of the larger government mandate, No Child Left Behind.

The National Education Association stated on their website, “The current version of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is fundamentally flawed. It undermines existing state and school district structures and authority, and shifts public dollars to the private sector through supplemental educational services and takeovers of public schools by for-profit companies.”

Four prominent educators* in New Mexico published an op-ed piece last October in the Albuquerque Journal, titled, “Every Child Left Ignorant or No More Excuses.”

  “The recently released Inspector General report regarding Reading First programs (one of the central components of No Child Left Behind, specifically directed at struggling readers) indicates favoritism, mismanagement and widespread corruption are operating at the highest levels of the Department of Education.

Instead of providing real support to states, the Reading First Program became a sham that reaped huge profits for favored publishing companies and researchers, such as CTB McGraw Hill, and the University of Oregon Center for Teaching and Learning. This last group is largely responsible for the infamous DIBELS test.

Interestingly, the authors of DIBELS just happen to also sit on the “Expert Review Panel” set up by the Department of Education to approve Reading First grant applications.”


In response to Higgins’ request, a five- hour hearing was held. Christopher Doherty, former director of Reading First, acknowledged that his wife had worked as a paid consultant for a reading program, Direct Instruction, that investigators said he improperly tried to force schools to use. He failed to disclose the conflict on financial disclosure forms. 

Also at the hearing were three current and former professors at the University of Oregon, Roland H. Good III, Edward J. Kame’enui and Deborah Simmons, who played important roles in advising states on how to apply for Reading First grants. They testified that they had collected hundreds of thousands of thousands of dollars in royalties from curriculums and tests they had authored, whose use grew exponentially through the program. All denied conflict of interest.

The three created an assessment test (DIBELS) that the inspector general says has been unfairly promoted through Reading First. Though the assessment is available as a free download, many schools pay the University of Oregon $1 per child to score the test results. Dr. Good testified that a company he formed collected nearly $1.3 million in royalties from states that used the test.  Still others buy a hand-held device to score student’s reading skills. Dr. Good went on to say his company collects 40 cents per child per year from a partner company that markets the device. 

“That sounds like a criminal enterprise to me,” said Rep. George Miller (D- CA), chairman of the House education committee. “You don’t get to override the law,” he angrily told a panel of Reading First officials. “But the fact of the matter is that you did.” (Washington Post)

Turning to the inspector general, Mr. Miller said, “I think when we put the evidence together we may end up joining you in those criminal referrals.”

Starr Lewis, Kentucky’s associate commissioner of education, said her state applied four times for Reading First money. The only significant change between the first and fourth application, she said, was that her state surrendered to pressure from federal officials to drop the testing instrument it was using in favor of the Oregon assessment.

Ms. Lewis said her state alone had paid Wireless Generation, the partner company that markets the handheld devices, nearly $750,000 since 2004 for the devices and scoring assessments. (N.Y. Times)

So, here’s the run-down.  The Bush Administration puts together a program to help poor children, ages 5 to 9, who are also poor readers, and requires schools to get involved or risk federal funding. Schools can get grants for the expensive program, however, there is a catch. The grants are approved by an “Expert Review Panel” that just happens to be staffed by the very same companies and universities that provide the tests and testing tools. Pretty sweet deal….for the companies. Not so much for the schools and the children they are trying to help.

So, where is the oversight here, you ask? It’s the Department of Education. The same department providing oversight for the universities and financial aid offices taking kick backs from loan companies. Kind of like having the fox guard the hen house.

Today in the Washington Post, Barmak Nassirian, a longtime advocate for industry and reform at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers stated, “The Department of Education has been run as a wholly owned subsidiary of the loan industry under this administration. They are running the federal loan program for the profit of their friends and not for the benefit of students and taxpayers.”

Sounds like they are running Reading First the same way.
 
 “……a report regarding Reading First programs indicates favoritism, mismanagement and widespread corruption are operating at the highest levels of the Department of Education.”

Sounds like a blueprint for the Bush Administration.

 

 From the least to the greatest of them,
     everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
     everyone deals falsely.      Jeremiah 6:13-15



*Dr. Rick Meyer, PhD Reading Professor, UNM, Dr. Kyle Shanton, Reading Professor, NMSU, Dr. Priscilla Guierrez, Outreach Specialist New Mexico School for the Deaf, Dr. Anne Calhoon, Reading Professor, UNM






Cheri Cabot, Politics Correspondent
Cheri’s column, “Personal About Politics”, published every Tuesday, will reflect on how the life of a 57 year-old, middle class woman is affected by politics, policy and the current state of the nation - a look at the personal aspects of politics. The articles will be posted to Politics.gather.com as part of Gather Essentials.

Cheri is a single teacher and writer, living in Southern California.  She has two grown children, one in Iowa and one at Columbia University, and is the proud grandmother of two. Cheri is also a purveyor of fine coffee, warm chatter and dry wit.

You can find all of Cheri’s columns on Personal About Politics at www.ccabot.gather.com.  Keep up with Cheri’s other postings and Gather activity by joining her Gather network at www.ccabot.gather.com, and select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page.

You’ll find Cheri and other Politics Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other Politics experts at Politics.gather.com