Bennett Speaks Out On A-F System Allegations

Dan Goldblatt / WFIU

Former state superintendent Tony Bennett speaks with media on his last day in office.

After the state ethics committee found Tony Bennett not guilty of adjusting A-F letter grades two years ago in an unethical way, Bennett admits Indiana’s accountability system is confusing and contributed to the skepticism around those allegations.

The accusation against Bennett regarding the A-F system was that he changed the letter grade for Christel House Academy, a school he championed for, from a C to an A.

But as Andrew Ujifusa for Education Week reports Bennett admits the complicated way schools were scored added to notion he and his staff cheated.

Mr. Bennett is now an executive consultant for the Aspire longitudinal-testing system created by ACT Inc., the Iowa City, Iowa-based testing company. He said that while he is grateful for official exonerations, he’s not “spiking the ball in the end zone.”

“Across the country, people are seeing that this is hard work,” Mr. Bennett said of school accountability systems. “Our intent was to get it right. I never, ever said that our system was perfect.”

Indiana Inspector General David Thomas and the ethics committee did find Bennett guilty for using state resources during his 2012 re-election campaign that he lost to Glenda Ritz.