Yesterday’s topic was a fake “massacre” invented by Kellyanne Conway to justify Donald Trump’s new Muslim ban. Today it’s more fake facts — this time from billionaire school privatization advocate Betsy DeVos.
National Public Radio just highlighted a new Betsy DeVos debacle — her citation of fake graduation rate numbers to justify “virtual” charter schools.
“Why do you think their performance is so poor?" That’s the question Senator Patty Murray, D-Wa. put to Betsy DeVos, Trump's controversial pick for Secretary of Education, concerning the performance of private “virtual” K-12 academies.
Devos’ written response to Senator Murray’s question was inspired, it seems, by the propaganda of a for-profit company, K-12, Inc. which runs virtual academies and that DeVos had once invested in.
“The following virtual academies have four-year cohort graduation rates at or above 90 percent”, replied DeVos to Murray. DeVos listed seven virtual academies with (alleged) graduation rates between 92 percent and (if you’re a teacher you’ll know how absurd this is) 100 percent.
Nevada Virtual Academy was the one with a 100 percent graduation rate according to DeVos. Wrong, says the state of Nevada, it’s actually 63 percent.
Ohio Virtual Academy has a 92 percent graduation rate, claimed DeVos. Wrong, says the state of Ohio, it’s 53 percent.
Utah Virtual Academy has a 96 percent graduation rate, said DeVos. Wrong, says the state of Utah, it’s 42 percent.
DeVos’ numbers, which were lifted without citation, appear to come from a cheery report from K-12, Inc.
“It's a fictitious rate,” Russell Rumberger — professor emeritus of education at the University of California, Santa Barbara — told National Public Radio, “It ignores almost all of the students who transfer out or drop out."
The national performance of “virtual” or “cyber charter” schools now vacuuming up public funding is so atrocious that in November 2016 Education Week ran a special multi-part investigation titled “Rewarding Failure”.
From plagiarizing to citing “alternative facts” concerning graduation rates, from her shaky Senate testimony to her funding of a “biblical worldview” summer politics camp that looks to the way Stalin, Hitler, and Lenin mobilized youth and aspires to create “thousands of Rick Santorums in the next generation”, the Betsy DeVos scandals just keep piling up.
“They tell us that. We lost our tails. Evolving up, from little snails. I say it’s all. Just wind in sails. Are we not men ? — We are Devo ! Are We not men ? — We are DeVo !” — DeVo, 1978