Why would the Maryland State Department of Education take down school test results and later repost them with much of the data redacted? The state says it’s all about student privacy. But one employee who worked at the Department of Education says it’s about something else entirely.
“They do not want anyone to talk to media,” said a whistleblower, who worked in a leadership position at MSDE for years and asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation. “When the media does a story, it's very tense in the building,”
That building is the Nancy S. Grasmick State Education Building. It houses the Maryland State Department of Education.
“They do not like to be questioned,” the whistleblower told Project Baltimore.
Project Baltimore has been trying to speak with someone inside this building, specifically State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury. But he will not agree to an interview.
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“It makes complete sense that he doesn't want to talk to the media, because he doesn't want to answer the hard questions,” said the whistleblower.
Project Baltimore, in February, broke the story that 23 Baltimore City Schools had zero students, among those tested, score proficient on the state math exam. In March, the state uploaded revised state test results, and much of the data was replaced with asterisks. Project Baltimore asked the whistleblower what they thought happened.
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