Posted on 08/02/2011 7:00:17 AM PDT by Libloather
Pennsylvania Joins the List of States Facing a School Cheating Scandal
Monday, August 01, 2011
By MICHAEL WINERIP, The New York Times
**SNIP**
Mr. Herold's first day was July 6. On July 8 about 9:30 a.m., Ms. Mezzacappa suggested he look at the enormous state file, and by 11:30 that night The Notebook had posted its biggest scoop. A total of 89 schools -- 28 in Philadelphia -- had been flagged by the state for, among other things, an improbably high number of erasures, as well as questionable gains on reading and math tests.
Mr. Socolar, a data fanatic, calculated that at some of these schools, the odds that the erasures had happened randomly were one in 100 trillion, and Ms. Mezzacappa verified those numbers with Andrew Porter, the dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
And that is how Pennsylvania became the latest in a growing list of states facing a cheating scandal.
Never before have so many had so much reason to cheat. Students' scores are now used to determine whether teachers and principals are good or bad, whether teachers should get a bonus or be fired, whether a school is a success or failure.
Will Pennsylvania do what it takes to root out cheating? Few school districts have. Most inquiries are led by educators who are not first-rate investigators and have little incentive to make their own districts look bad.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Not surprising.
Probably a lot more cheating going on then we realize.
It is oh-so-comforting to know that the little ones are being trained by such upright and moral paragons of virtue. Just so they don’t ever post 10 commandments or utter a prayer the future should be bright. I just love our modern world. It is so cool.
ping
The hell you say.
I hope this mentality doesn't filter its way into the rest of society.
Can you imagine a world where mechanics, roofers, tree trimmers, etc., get paid according to how good of a job they do? Horrors.
The problem here is that we are trusting the people whose pay and job performance is on the line with the job of supervising these tests. For these standardized tests, we need objective test proctors who have no incentive for changing the tests. Until then, we have the foxes guarding the hen houses.
Lying and cheating as a way of life.........except God will not be mocked. The truth will out.
It must be great to be in a profession where you get to make it up as you go along. The rest of us really screwed up by yoking ourselves with having to actually perform and produce quality results.
No surprise at all given how absolutely out of control the teachers unions are in this state.
Disturbing that they are also apparently stupid. Did they not think anyone would ever do any kind of statistical analysis on the test forms to uncover any funny business?
the hand of ted kennedy still at play as is
billions of dollars spent on illegals.
i’m sorry no one can dig him up
and kick his ass a few times.
So, Obamajaad’s ‘Race To The Top’ is typically creating a bunch of NEA sponsored cheating teacher groups.
I’m wondering if it isn’t inevitable that all 50 states will soon uncover these kind of educational Tweed Rings.
It’s not just schools, there is a huge wave of corruption and dishonesty coursing through American society.
It seems to me the real problems infesting us are ones no one discusses. That’s a bad sign.
So, Obamajaad’s ‘Race To The Top’ is typically creating a bunch of NEA sponsored cheating teacher groups. Community organizing at its best.
anyone want to bet this IS across the country and not even tip of iceberg
Maybe not; we'll have to see how they handle the "crisis". Being brazen about what they did tells me that they understood that there would be little-to-no repercussions for their actions, i.e. they'd be protected if caught. I think it'll play out like this:
1) The Chief Administrative Mucky-muck of Schools will hold a press conference where he/she feigns outrage and vows "to get to the bottom of this."
2) Some mid-level administrator with a title like Adjunct Assistant to the Head of Educational Excellence will be chosen to be thrown to the wolves. This bureaucrat will, of course, be given a large "severance package" with a wink and a nod. He/she will immediately and quietly be hired on in the neighboring school district at twice their previous salary.
3) The Chief Administrative Mucky-muck of Schools holds another press conference announcing that the problem has been resolved and assures everyone that the sanctity of the children's education (their "highest priority") has been preserved.
4) Business returns to normal and bonuses are paid out to all involved.
Didn’t these Einsteins realize once they started cheating to improve their students’ test scores, they were locked into cheating every test thereafter or their little geniuses were going to look like they weren’t continuing to improve?
Again, why is this news? Every state has the same issues.
Many schools tell the teachers to fake the tests, or turn in forged tests.
Sadly enough, erasure cheating is just one part of the equation, albeit the most easily catchable mode of cheating. Atlanta school administrators cut open the test packets, copied the questions to give tot he students, then used heat to reseal the packets. Other schools have simply posted the questions/answers on an overhead projector. In other schools, the test proctors have verbally given students “help.”
The root cause of the problem is the socialized schooling system. The fact that classroom bureaucrats are cheating on tests should come as no surprise. They are out to get a bigger share of the tax dollars thrown at the single payer system.
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