On April 1, 2015, Alan Blinder’s New York Times’ article shouted, “ Atlanta Educators Convicted in School Cheating Scandal.”
This does not come as any surprise. I often wondered what dire consequences educators would pay as a result of high stakes standardize testing.
The cheating scandal is a case in point. The Atlanta educators included Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Beverly L. Hall (deceased), principals, testing coordinators, and teachers. After reading several accounts of the trial and convictions, it is evident that Superintendent Hall created an environment which fostered cheating throughout at least 44 schools, which comprise 43% of all school sites in Atlanta. Even one school is one too many.
Unfortunately, Georgia isn’t the only state in which this appalling practice occurs. A new survey by Fair Test reports, “Confirmed cases of test score manipulation in at least 37 states including Washington, D.C. were found in the past four academic years. The analysis by the National FairTest Center reports there are at least 50 ways in which educators manipulated test scores during that period.” This behavior is reprehensible.
If this isn’t a wake up call for all citizens, I don’t know what is. Our national educational system is a disaster. All students have the right to the best education possible; one in which each student will reach his/her full potential.
“Teaching to the test is an educational practice where curriculum is heavily focused on preparing students for a standardized test.”
“Opponents of this practice argue that it forces teachers to limit curriculum to a set range of knowledge or skills in order to increase student performance on the mandated test. This produces an unhealthy focus on excessive repetition of simple, isolated skills ("drill and kill") and limits the teacher's ability to focus on a holistic understanding of the subject matter."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
What some schools are doing to inflate their standardized test scores is criminal. Not everyone who is an administrator or teacher is guilty and should not be judged as such. Behavior such as we have seen in Atlanta is a disgrace and must be stopped.
Live simply.
Speak gently.
Love unconditionally.
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