Report details largest US school cheating scandal - US news - Life - msnbc.com

For now, I am speechless.



dl

Not that I'm condoning the cheating, but....

Schools live and die by standardized testing. A lot of schools end up teaching solely what they know the tests are going to cover. Other information/subjects get pushed by the wayside.

I can understand "WHY" they felt the need to cheat. I think it's horrible that schools have to live and die by the standardized testing. In essence the standardized testing does not necessarily show the full picture of what a child knows, or what the school is doing, IMO.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I do not condone the cheating but I think that anytime you have standardized testing tied to $$$$$ you will have people who will do anything to acheive the scores to get the money. Encouraged by the administration, teachers are teaching the test. Some obviously are cheating. I will not be surprised if there are not more districts who will be found to be cheating the system.

As a former school director, I could see this coming a mile away. It is human nature. If your job is tied to your students doing well on a standardized test, you will do anything to get those scores.

I don't blame the teachers as much as I do the Superintendent of schools for the pressure to do well knowing exactly what was going on, but I don't think I could have taught in that district and kept my integrity.

It is a shame. A downright shame. The kids are the ones who will in the end suffer.

__________________
GO NAVY WRESTLING!!BEAT ARMY!!!
RJB 3/18/60 - 5/22/04
We miss you, sweet brother
God Bless the USA!!!!! Praying for my Youngster son at United States Naval Academy, class of 2014!!

http://mylifeundertheabaya.blogspot.com/

deddlastt: Sadly, the news story you posted does not shock me in the least. Unfortunately, it seems to be happening more and more these days. Someone mentioned the standardized tests in their reply and I agree with they said about them. So much focus is placed on those tests and NOT what the student is truly capable of doing in the classroom.

Plus, I think that there are some "teachers" that are not as qualified as others to handle the issues with the different children. One of my sons teachers from a couple of years straight out told me that she was just "doing her time" until she could retire. She was protected under tenure so she felt that could in any way that she liked to the students & parents. Her only concern was that the students pass their standardized tests and make her look good.

I have deleted the off topic and bashing posts. If this thread should turn back to bashing the topic will be closed. Thank you

Sady very sad, I did not view any bashing posts, just logged in now, when will it ever end, thanks Mod so very much for doing so.....Peace. Catherine

Please don't think that this happens in every school district or school. Most schools follow the rules.

Read I agree with you, that is does not happen in all the schools. So much as changed when we were younger and went to school, life was so much easier then. I do agree there are a lot of teachers who abuse the system and cheat, but then again that happens all over in every aspect of life sadly..Peace . Catherine

Bashing posts how many were there I only made the original comments to a threathing private message from Deddlastt that I could get in trouble on my job, please help thanks and peace. Catherine

ILUVLUCY420 - Please re-read Sheripie's post above (post #5 in this thread)

The bold and red font added by me for emphasis.

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I don't buy that NCLB is responsible, even though that was a Ted Kennedy-authored piece of legislation and I tend to balk at much of the politics he espoused.

I attribute the cheating to a lack of integrity and nothing more.

I think character isn't just *built* through challenges. I think it's also sometimes *revealed*.

Prior to having this imperfect testing system that held feet to the fire, my understanding is that this was an under-performing school district. I have no clue why. I don't know if it was because the teaching was sub-par or if it was because the families in that area are generally broken and the children have not been raised in environments that ready them for the path of life.

But I don't think that we should conclude that prior to NCLB that these administrators were people of character, and the testing drove them to pitch their values. My guess is that even prior to NCLB, there were some shady things going on. This testing situation may have just pushed them into a situation where they showed their true nature.

Anyone who is put in a position where they have to justify their own existence is liable to do just that.

Our judicial system would probably come close to collapse if drugs were legalized. Thus judges and court employees, lawyers and their employees, police, jailors, prison owners and their employees, all have a vested interest in us not legalizing drugs.

The military has a vested interest in us being involved in "disputes" in other countries, as do all the people who supply the military. The Halliburton type companies also have a vested interest in the same goals.

Firefighters have a vested interest in convincing us that they are needed as much as they were in the pre-smoke detector era. And if they are needed, then they "need" new firehouses, and new equipment. What we probably need are more ambulances and EMT's and less emphasis on fire fighting. But that would put the firefighters on the defensive so we aren't going to hear that, at least not from anyone in the fire department. Every winter we used to read in the papers, at least several times, of houses burning down and taking someone's life. I don't see or hear that nearly as often. There might be a fire, but most of the time people get out because they have smoke detectors. Used to be stories about huge fires in tall buildings. Seldom hear that anymore either. We still need firefighters, but maybe some of the money spent should go more to other life saving services.

And teachers who are required to make their kids pass a specified test are more than likely to teach to that test and if that fails, "help" the students pass anyway. When self-preservation is at stake, people will do what they have to do to protect their jobs, their families and their turf, just as the legal system espouses no change in drug laws, the military argues for intervention in other countries, and firefighters want things to remain the same for themselves. They understand what they have to do to keep things they way they are.

So none of what the teachers did should surprise anyone. It's to be expected. The people who make the laws and rules, seem to never spend any time thinking of how someone is going to respond to those rules and laws. If they did, they might come up with better ideas instead of just plowing ahead with a program that is doomed because of human nature.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^this!

__________________
GO NAVY WRESTLING!!BEAT ARMY!!!
RJB 3/18/60 - 5/22/04
We miss you, sweet brother
God Bless the USA!!!!! Praying for my Youngster son at United States Naval Academy, class of 2014!!

http://mylifeundertheabaya.blogspot.com/