One of the drawbacks to having a high-profile figure like Michelle Rhee running the city schools is that so much of the education coverage tends to be about Rhee herself, rather than the work her office is (or isn’t) doing. In a column last weekend, Colbert I. King argued that “the issue is not whether the chancellor is a polarizing figure with her take-no-prisoners approach, or is a fearless crusader against defenders of the status quo. At issue is whether public education in the District is being improved.”

In the past few weeks we’ve seen stories speculating who Rhee might be dating, wondering if she is feuding with Washington Post reporter Bill Turque, and scolding the city council for infringing on her authority. This kind of stuff is entertaining, (at least, it is if you’re into education pundit infighting) but does little to answer King’s question: what’s going on in the schools?

D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray would like to know, too. He’s announced his intention to appoint an independent evaluator to assess the state of DCPS since the mayoral takeover a year and a half ago. The investigation was mandated as part of the takeover in 2007, but the impartiality of the two candidates Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso suggested last year to lead the study was challenged by Gray – one testified in support of the mayor takeover, and the other authored a Post op-ed praising Rhee – and no new names have been offered. Gray also wants the costs of the study to come from public money, instead of the D.C. Public Education Fund, which relies on private contributions. “We’re at one-and-a-half years,” Gray told the Post. “If we’re going to have an objective analysis, now is the time to begin.”