Investigation into APS cheating finds unethical behavior across every level

The Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | 7/6/2011 | Heather Vogell

[Sprite518]

Across Atlanta Public Schools, staff worked feverishly in secret to transform testing failures into successes.

Teachers and principals erased and corrected mistakes on students’ answer sheets.

Area superintendents silenced whistle-blowers and rewarded subordinates who met academic goals by any means possible.

Superintendent Beverly Hall and her top aides ignored, buried, destroyed or altered complaints about misconduct, claimed ignorance of wrongdoing and accused naysayers of failing to believe in poor children’s ability to learn

[Sprite518]

Unbelievable! The education system loves to say it's the lack of money on why kids fail in education. No it's because what teachers in the Atlanta Public Schools are teaching kids to cheat in life.

Now we know why the public schools in Atlanta always think conservatives are robing them. It's because they are judging conservatives by their own standards.

I recall reading that APS (Atlanta Public Schools)a while back, through background test, found out a lot of the teachers and staff had fake and/or forged degrees and high school diplomas. Apparently this may still be the case and explain why this is happening.

[Terry Mross]

No child left behind. So, cheat to make sure you got a job. Great idea, W. and Kennedy.

[redgolum]

Why is this news? Most districts cheat. The current set up means they have to. The students know that they will be allowed to pass, or the school will loose its funding. The parents don’t care.

Let the schools flunk kids.

[DeaconRed]

TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE
Heads Must Roll starting at the TOP.

[rhombus]

Wah Wah, it’s not our fault we cheated. If you are going to demand accountability and link tests to funding, you make us cheat. So next time just send lots of loot. Uh huh, sure.

[No Truce With Kings]

Freakonomics had a chapter on this very issue, and how to detect it.

[Sprite518]

Agree 100%

[Trailerpark Badass]

Supt Beverly Hall "earned" more than $550K in bonuses coming from the fraudulent test results.

Will she be forced to pay it back and give back her "Superintendent of the year" award?

[Tazlo]

I thought that the most amazing thing about the story was the row of pictures with the story on the front page of the paper today:

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/pop_up.asp?fpVname=GA_AJC&ref_pge=map&tfp_map=USA

[Sprite518]

I agree... All of it plus some interest.

[FourPeas]

The public watched public school teachers in Wisconsin lie about being sick and abandon their classrooms to protest an elected governor do what he had campaigned to do.

Now, we see the ends to which Atlanta public school teachers are willing to go to make themselves look good. And these are only two very recent incidents that received nationwide attention.

How long will it be before we, as a society, become so disenchanted with the public education system that we do what’s needed to be done for 50+ years? The state should not be connected to education. As in so many other sectors, getting the state out of the education business will improve its quality, lower its cost, and again make it workable, valuable and the envy of the world.

[Sprite518]

Good! Thanks for the link!

[blam]

[BattleFlag]

When these woefully unprepared kids land in the workplace and become a drag on productivity forcing employers to address the situation (a nightmare in itself) the root cause will remain buried under a rock.

Then issue will then be "racism", "gender aparthied" or any number of other forms of discrimination from the "entitlement" play book.

[Jeff Chandler]

I wonder how many of those implicated voted for Obama?

[Rebelbase]

I recall reading about the county south of ATL, I think it was Jones(?) lost is accreditation back in 2006 which caused a big stink and helped accelerate the real estate decline there due to people moving to other counties so their kids could get into college.

Is the cheating more prominent in this county than other ATL counties?

[aruanan]

Ha ha ha. I hope a Chicago paper will undertake a similar investigation.

[BattleFlag]

"Then issue will then be "racism"....

From the Department of Redundancy Department

[chuckee]

I do not like No Child Left Behind. The only positive part of the bill is the requirement for standardized testing forcing teacher accountability. Of course that is the very section that the Obama administration is trying to eliminate at the bequest of the teachers’ union.
One of the teacher’s unions chiefs said the reason for the cheating was that standardized testing required by No Child Left Behind put undue pressure on teachers to teach to the test rather than “educate” the children.This pressure caused them to cheat. Therefore standardized testing should be eliminated.
This is analagous to a drunk driver defensively saying that the reason he drank before he drove is because driving his car made him nervous.The union would place blame on the car rather than the driver.Perhaps, we should outlaw cars.

[wintertime]

Hm?....No melanin deficiencies.