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How does PolitiFact Georgia’s Truth-O-Meter work?
Our goal is to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution fact-check statements by local, state and national political leaders, including lobbyists and interest groups. We then rate them on the AJC Truth-O-Meter.
To fact-check a claim, reporters first contact the speaker to verify the statement. Next, the research begins. Reporters consult a variety of sources, including industry and academic experts. This research can take hours or a few days or even longer, depending on the claim. Reporters then compile the research into story form and include a recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling.
The fact check then moves on to a panel of veteran editors who debate the statement and the reporter’s recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling.
The panel votes on a final ruling; majority prevails.
All the gum-flapping over Donald Trump’s plan for a wall between the U.S. and Mexico landed a news anchor before PolitiFact’s Truth-O-Meter last week. Trump himself hit the meter with a claim about Carly Fiorina.
Meanwhile, PolitiFact Georgia fact-checked claims about overcrowded Decatur schools and the now-retired Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT).
Coming Monday, we look at U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below.
Full versions can be found at www.politifact.com/georgia/.
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Richard Woods in a press release on September 3rd, 2015
The CRCT “set some of the lowest expectations for student proficiency in the nation.”
When results of the first round of the new Georgia Milestones tests were announced, scores were low, as predicted.
But State School Superintendent Richard Woods said the new test had to be more challenging, if Georgia students were to leave K-12 better prepared for college or career. “Our previous assessment, the CRCT, set some of the lowest expectations for
student proficiency in the nation, and that cannot continue, ” Woods said in the
press release on Sept. 3, announcing the results of the new tests.
Was he right? Our research showed that as far back as 2006 researchers saw clear signs the test was too easy.
There was a wide gulf between passing rates on the CRCT and the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), considered the gold standard of
tests. And it went on for years.
Woods said too many students were labeled as proficient when, in reality, they had not fully mastered the standards and needed additional support.
We rated his statement True.
Jorge Ramos on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015 in an interview on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News
“Almost 40 percent of all (undocumented) immigrants come by plane and they overstay their visas.”
Depending on which poll you believe, between 40 and 50 percent of Americans support building a wall or fence along the border with Mexico. Jorge Ramos, a news anchor on Univision and Fusion, makes no secret of his disdain for the idea.
A few days after attracting widespread notice after being thrown out of a Donald Trump press conference while asking a question on immigration policy (he was later allowed back in), Ramos accepted an invitation to appear on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor on Sept. 2, 2015. Host Bill O’Reilly’s first question pressed him on the issue of a border wall.
Ramos called a wall “a completely absurd idea.”
“Why would you want to build a 1,900-mile wall between Mexico and the United States if almost 40 percent of all immigrants come by plane and they overstay their visas?” he said.
Two Republican presidential candidates, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, have said the same thing. We checked Rubio’s claim and rated it Mostly True.
However, Ramos’ statement adds the wrinkle that these people typically arrive by plane to rebut the notion that a wall would stop unauthorized immigration.
While there is some evidence that overstays represent about 40 percent of the unauthorized population, and perhaps more, the best estimates of those flying in — which are admittedly a bit shaky — could be as low as one-quarter or somewhat more than one-third.
The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details.
We rated it Half True.
Donald Trump on Sunday, September 13th, 2015 in an interview on “Face the Nation”
“The top man at Yale Law School came out … with just a raging report” about former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, saying she is “one of the worst executives in his memory in history running the company.”
Donald Trump is defending disparaging comments about rival presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, whom Trump mocked by saying “Look at that face!” in front of a Rolling Stone reporter who published his remarks.
Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation, Trump contended that his remarks were not about her appearance, but about “her persona” and her track record as the CEO of Hewlett-Packard.
“She hasn’t done a good job in, you could call it, the private sector. The companies, take a look at the record,” he said Sept. 13. “The top man at Yale Law School came out, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, with just a raging report. She’s one of the worst executives in his memory in history running the company.”
A laundry list of Fiorina’s failings, according to Sonnenfeld, includes:
— Forcing through a "massive, ill-conceived, controversial" merger with Compaq Computer in 2002 by using "hardball tactics that would make Donald Trump wince;"
— Completely reversing her stated strategy to emulate competitor IBM's move into IT services,
— Slicing shareholder wealth in half in five years;
— Cutting 30,000 U.S. tech jobs;
— Pocketing in $100 million despite everything.
Trump's claim is missing some detail but is overall on point about Sonnenfeld's long-running critique of Fiorina.
We rated Trump's claim Mostly True.
Internet commenters on Thursday, September 10th, 2015 in comments on various blogs
Annexation would lead to overcrowding at Decatur’s city schools.
Some Decatur residents have insisted any annexation plans limit residential units, arguing that would lead to overcrowding its small school system.
Those claims have taken on urban myth status, reviving again this month in comments on local blogs.
A reader asked us to answer, once and for all, if annexation would overcrowd Decatur schools.
Quite simply, no.
Even without major annexations, the district has grown by 123 percent in the past decade, leaving its schools over-capacity today.
Adding people to the city would, no doubt, translate into more students.
But any claims that annexation would crowd the schools ignore the already burgeoning classrooms. The schools are already overcrowded.
We rated the claim False.
