Monday, April 01, 2013

Cheating investigations: A Tale of Two Cities

Sol Stern of the Daily Beast has an interesting comparison of how the APS cheating scandal was handled by Gov Perdue, vs Bloomberg's handling of cheating allegations in NYC. One could easily toss in Rhee's handling of cheating 'investigation' in DC schools.
He also points out what all of us know: there are always those who will game the system, and play the rules that are make for personal advantage; a few people (not necessarily those who were directly changing answers) profited mightily from this culture of coercion for results.
As other states prepare to impose teacher evaluation systems heavily based on test results, they need to consider carefully the likely responses of those they propose to 'incentivize' for higher achievement. While I know that my kids are doing their personal best, despite their parents, the test will not reflect their growth because it is below-grade-level growth. That means, that sometime after 2014-15, my job will be on the line for being "ineffective". My principal's job will be on the line shortly after that, if too many of us are "ineffective". Do you really think no one will try something? I've got a lovely bridge to sell you.

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