Incomparable

Since there's obviously not much else going on in the world, the Post published its third front-page story today on the DC school reform plan plagiariasm "scandal," wherein Mayor Fenty produced a school reform plan partially copied from the school district in Charlotte, NC. Read about days one and two here and here. After the obligatory intro, the article begins--and for all intents and purposes, ends--here:

Although there is plenty to admire about Charlotte's schools, there is also a growing chorus of critics who question whether Charlotte's successes reach beyond an academic elite.

Charlotte's students overall perform well in elementary school, for instance, but those gains largely disappear by high school, where many arrive needing remedial work. In the latest round of statewide tests, the yawning achievement gap between black and white students widened.

It is also unclear how much Charlotte's experience applies to the District. Charlotte's sprawling system of 129,000 students has more than twice as many pupils as the District and includes suburban and rural schools. The District's enrollment has declined for more than a decade; Charlotte is growing by 5,000 students a year. In national tests, Charlotte's fourth- and eighth-graders topped the list for urban schools in reading and math, while the District brought up the rear.

These differences raise questions in Washington about whether Charlotte's performance is broad enough or relevant enough for the Fenty administration to follow.

Let me get this straight.

An alleged "growing chorus of critics," who are named nowhere in this article, are concerned that the Fenty administration, in trying to reform a school district that is bleeding enrollment and has rock-bottom test scores, has erred in copying parts of the school reform plan of another district with growing enrollment and much higher test scores. Their concerns are based on the fact that the two districts are in some ways dissimilar. How are they dissimilar? The other district has growing enrollment and much higher test scores!

Alternatively, copying is a bad idea because Charlotte, like DC, hasn't solved some of public education's most vexing problems, like reforming high schools and closing the achievement gap.

In other words, to the extent that Charlotte is like the District, copying was wrong. To the extent that Charlotte is different from the District, copying was wrong. This is what happens when you start with a "scandal" and then fill in the blanks afterwards.

Meanwhile, the Post still hasn't asked or answered the only questions that matter: Are the reforms copied from Charlotte any good? Are they likely to help District students learn?

Coming soon to the front page, no doubt.