Teachers and administrators in Atlanta are facing criminal charges for changing student answers on standardized tests over the last decade in order to show improvement and gain the rewards. Why does the story sound so familiar?
Can anyone say "Sanders-Clyde"? How about MiShawna Moore, darling of Superintendent Nancy McGinley, who escaped to North Carolina? McGinley put her in charge of two schools because of the rocketing scores at Sanders-Clyde, and then came. . . the fall.
According to the media, NCLB "made" them do it. Please.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
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13 comments:
What Ms. Moore did to the tests at Sanders-Clyde is a common practice within CCSD. Ms. Moore may have escaped to NC, but what she did by rigging the test results is still going on here.
If you have solid proof, you need to come forward with the specifics. The scandal in Atlanta is massive, far-reaching, and will become a national story in a matter of hours. Hopefully this will prompt other teachers in other districts across the US to come forward.
Anonymous #2, the NYT wrote about the Mishawna Moore/CCSD cheating scandal about 3 years ago. No one with the most basic understanding of statistics denies this occurred. Ms. Moore and Nancy McGinley escaped without punishment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/education/31charleston.html?scp=1&sq=mishawna%20moore&st=cse
This is significantly more far-reaching. Thirty-eight principals, 140-plus teachers, Associate Superintendents, Deputy Superintendent, Superintendent, etc.
Anonymous #2 and #4: Good points. Apparently, 44 of 56 middle and elementary schools were involved. Teachers who attempted to report cheating were terminated. Some were threatened with other retaliatory measures. It is interesting that the AJC took the aggressive lead over a year ago in exposing the irregularities in the test score gains. And the former governor launched a thorough investigation - minus any current education bureaucrats. The released report is very thorough: Names of witnesses as well as those allegedly involved at every level, etc. Even this morning's edition of the AJC alludes to what you said in your post about this becoming a national story.
Before we start to tie teacher evaluations to test results, we might want to consider how such a move would make cheating seem like a necessity for teachers and administrators. What exactly do tests results show if they are taken out of context or used as stand alone standards of measure?
MAP tests are already being used to measure student achievement during the course of a year. So what if teachers tell their students to not take seriously the tests given in the fall, then teaches to the test in anticipation of the one given in the spring? Isn't that a form of "gaming the system"?
A low fall test score and a much higher spring score implies significant student academic advancement. It also implies significant loss of knowledge over the course of a summer. If a teacher says to not take the test seriously in the fall in order to inflate the rate of advancement on the spring test, is this a form of cheating?
If it is OK to manipulate the scores on MAP, what does that say about all the statistics relating to the summer learning loss?
I have to question the veracity of every report issued by people whose income depends on the results. Too many so-called educators are controling the data the rest of are depending on to measure what our kids are learning. The only thing I can be sure of is that American educators are very good at making numbers say anything they want.
Fixing the numbers to mislead is still cheating. Atlanta demonstrates that large scale cheating can easily be taken to the level of a crime. So does that mean that small scale cheating isn't a crime? And if it's not a crime, is it acceptable? Even if others don't cross that line, manipulating the numbers is still not something that is doing students or the public any good. Integrity is a virtue best taught by example. I'm afraid kids are learning life's negative lessons all too well. When numbers can be made to tell a different story, this must be what they mean by "Everyday Math". The lesson is that numbers can be made to lie. Atlanta is proving what we already know in Charleston.
As a teacher, I find cheating deplorable.
But if you think education is the big bad wolf of cheating, you probably haven't heard of tax evasion for businesses and individuals, medicare/medicaid fraud for doctors, political action committees funding both sides, big oil and their subsidized profits, and legalese lying in the law fields.
Where better to stop the cycle of unethical behavior? Let's shine a light, from the top down, on those who are running the public schools.
Where better to start to stop? At the politicians and CEOs who are among the worst offenders of rules infractions.
Not saying schools are not responsible for putting a stop to cheating, but good gosh, look at the corruption above.
I agree. Let's start with cleaning house of "the worst offenders of rules infractions". By "politicians and CEOs" you mean to include those who run our public schools? We could start with the chairman of the school board Chris Fraser. He's a "politician" and Superintendent Nancy McGinley is the "CEO".
One was elected and one was appointed. Start with those who are elected...make the next election a referendum on the "CEO."
I am saying that there is as much, and as damaging corruption in the halls of congress and the business community.
To say start with the schools is a bit disingenuous.
Clean up the schools, health care, tax-evading, subsidized oil and big businesses, and mostly clean up the club that is "Washington" or "Columbia".
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