A long-anticipated evaluation of the D.C. Public Schools from the U.S. Government Accountability Office was released yesterday. The top line finding? “Important steps taken to continue reform efforts, but enhanced planning could improve implementation and sustainability.” No shockers there. The report praised initiatives that have been implemented by schools chancellor Michelle Rhee since 2007, such as increased accountability for central office employees, but also argued that the District should do more strategic planning to better execute their ideas, and make greater effort to engage “stake holders” like parents and teachers.

Speaking about the report yesterday to the Senate subcommittee that has oversight of District affairs, Rhee defended her efforts, saying, “When you come into the lowest-performing school district in the country where things really were so dysfunctional and there’s so much work to be done, we had a lot of enthusiasm for trying to tackle as many of those challenges as we could as quickly as we could.” DCPS has also criticized the report as not completely objective. Rhee found a largely sympathetic audience among the Senate panel. “I know it’s not easy,” Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) told her. “It’s tough, tough, tough.”

The GAO report was commissioned by the Senate subcommittee and partially drew on interviews with a number of DCPS officials, educators, and union leaders, as well as independent analysis. The full evaluation can be read here (PDF).

Photo by Kyle Walton