As a twelve-year teacher, it doesn't shock me to hear story after story highlighting the same truth: high-stakes testing can lead to a culture of cheating by educators in a school district. The biggest one by far this year was in Atlanta, GA, where Beverly Hall (former superintendent for Atlanta Public Schools) and 34 other teachers and principals were indicted for racketeering, conspiracy, influencing witnesses, theft and lying. Hall herself faces up to 45 years in prison.
Hall was honored as Superintendent of the Year and was hosted at the White House for her achievements raising the test scores of minority students. However, the meteoric rise of scores raised more than just eyebrows: it raised suspicions too. When math proficiency rates in a school rise from 24% to 86% in only one year, people stop saying "Gift from God" and start thinking "Deal with the Devil".
Ultimately, 178 teachers and principals are suspected to be complicit in altering student tests. 82 confessed to doing so.
None of this surprises me. When higher test scores are linked to pay checks, classroom funding and even employment, cheating no longer indicates a loss of integrity: it becomes a calculated career move. What does surprise me are the comments I see from teachers and parents, dismissing this scandal as merely the result of a lot of bad eggs in one public school basket. "I would never consider encouraging cheating amongst my students, or altering the results", says one commenter. "Unfortunately, the Atlanta public school apple barrel is full of rotten apples", says another.
How do you find enough rotten apples to fill a school district? Simple: you make them. Follow me below the fold for more.
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