The Bland Accuracy of the GAO

Today the GAO released an evaluation of District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Long known as one of the worst-performing districts in the country, it has been the site of radical change in the last two years ever since Mayor Adrian Fenty took over the schools and hired Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Today's GAO report is both a sober reminder of how hard change is, as well as a refresher course on just how bad things were.

Change is hard, and the implementation has been anything but smooth:

DCPS lacks certain planning processes, such as communicating information to stakeholders in a timely manner and incorporating stakeholder feedback at key junctures, which would allow for a more transparent process. In addition, DCPS did not gauge its internal capacity prior to implementing certain key initiatives, which, if addressed in the future, could help ensure the sustainability of initiatives. Without these planning processes, an organization risks having to revamp initiatives, leading to delays and compromising the implementation of timely, critical work. While having these planning processes in place will not eliminate all implementation issues, it will help to identify and mitigate risks associated with implementing bold initiatives and identify needed changes in the early stages of the initiative. Furthermore, a lack of these planning processes can result in decisions that are made on an ad hoc basis with resources unevenly distributed as was the case with the District’s new staffing model. Ultimately, the lack of such processes while planning and implementing initiatives has impeded the success of some of DCPS’s initiatives and could impede the District’s continued success and progress in reforming its school system.

But it was needed:

To increase accountability of its central office, DCPS developed an accountability system and an individual performance management system for central office departments and employees. The central office, which is responsible for providing academic and nonacademic supports47 to DCPS, had operated without such accountability systems prior to the recent reform efforts. For example, previously, performance evaluations were not conducted for most DCPS staff. As a result, central office employees were not held accountable for the quality of services they provided to support schools.

It's no wonder Chancellor Rhee inherited a central office where employee records were kept in boxes, paychecks were often inaccurate, and repair orders went unfilled for long stretches of time: the employees responsible for these tasks were never evaluated on whether these assignments were completed. It's worth remembering that what most people take for granted as a basic element of a well-functioning organization, evaluating employees and holding them responsible for completing their work, isn't so basic everywhere.