Former Atlanta schools superintendent Beverly Hall and 34 other school employees, including high-level administrators, principals and teachers, were recently booked in Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail after being indicted on 65 criminal counts. The charges included racketeering, theft, conspiracy, making false statements and witness tampering.
Just four years ago, Hall was the National Superintendent of the Year. Now, she faces 45 years in prison for having allegedly snagged almost $600,000 in bonus income for higher test scores achieved through fraudulently changing students’ test answers.
And this, the nation’s largest-ever cheating scandal, may prove only the highest shard of a proverbial large floating mass of frozen water.
But instead of condemnation, some of the nation’s leading “education experts” seem bent on excusing the cheaters.
“What we do know,” Washington Post education writer Valerie Strauss pointed out, “is that these cheating scandals have been a result of test-obsessed school reform.”
Dr. Christopher Emdin of Columbia University Teachers College reminded readers at the end of a recent Huffington Post column, “I am not saying that educators and school officials who cheat on tests or conspire to cover up cheating should not be reprimanded.”
Just “reprimanded”?
Award-winning teacher Steven Lin explained that “environments such as that alleged in Atlanta present the classic sociological phenomenon of ‘diffusion of responsibility,’ along with a host of other flaws regarding the compartmentalization of job descriptions within bureaucracies.”
You mean they suffer from “peer pressure”?
Nevertheless, I still think it’s more than sorta bad to cheat.
And I agree wholeheartedly with the “controversial” remark by George Washington University Dean Michael Feuer: “It’s not the test that made them cheat.”
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
9 replies on “Arrested Development”
Columbia sets such high standards nowadays that having the appelation “Dr” from there is perhaps less honorific than “Mr”.
The concept of personal responsibility is being abrogated in our society. Cheating and accepting $600,000 as a result is criminal. It is no excuse that the system is an abomination.
What are we teaching the children?
I live in South Carolina and receive the Charlotte (NC) Observer newspaper which (a) defends the teachers who hate tests and (b)teachers in NC uniformly hate the tests. Why? Because their incomes suffer when students fail the tests in the numbers that prove the teachers are terrible educators. At least to their credit, teacher cheating has never come up!
Charlie Seng
What is the the profile here?
A) Public employee’s, B) union represented, C) democrats,
D) women,
E) people of color?
F) all of the above.
No cheating !
Eddie — I believe your comments exihibit a profile of:
A)Uneducated
B)Unemployed
C)Alcoholic
Is either of the profiles accurate? Probably not. A good hard look at our society will show that “win at any cost” is a mindset that is continually rewarded. As long as that is tolerated we will have this type of behavior throughout the entire populace of the U.S. What is required is fewer rash, unfounded commentaries and more rational debate as to how to actually fix something in this country.
Eddie: What the hell does “women” and “people of color” have to do with anything? Also, you forgot to include “Republicans,” who as a class are clearly as parasitical as “Democrats.”
Mark- you’re right I forgot repubtards.
I think there are several republicans in Atlanta. However none of them work in the public sector.
To Mr. Seng
what about the teachers who have LESS THEN THE BRIGHTEST students? And, testing is standardized BUT ALL CHILDREN DO NOT LEARN AT THE SAME PACE.
Also, what about the home life/environment of the students? That plays a part in test scores- so why should teachers who work in an area on single family parents; or parents (even where both are present) don’t give a damn (about their children or education) suffer because of their students? And teachers (being racist)in an Asian area would do very well as Asians are enthused with learning. (as an aside, in New York City, there are a number – I think it is now 7 – of special/advanced high schools. ASIANS are disproportionately in these schools – all of which require difficult tests.
Teachers are teaching to pass the test, get a good score, not to teach nor for children to learn. And, some of the test “answers” are subjective – not 1 + 1 =2; but sort of opinions or guessing what someone else meant.