The Fix is In

Without additional comment...

Corbett's education chief changes PSSA testing rules for charter schools without federal approval

From: The Morning Call October 5, 2012

"A review of PSSA math and reading scores shows charter schools outperformed traditional public schools in 2012.  That's because state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis, at the behest of charter school advocates, changed the testing rules in a way that makes it easier for charter schools to meet state benchmarks."

The new method is less stringent than the standards that must be met by traditional public schools, and which until this year were also applied to charter schools. As a result, 44 of the 77 charter schools that PDE has recently classified as having made AYP for 2011-12 in fact fell short of the targets for academic performance that other public schools had to meet, some even declining in proficiency percentages rather than making gains.

But the change Tomalis quietly instituted was done so without receiving the required approval from the federal Department of Education.