Ever vigilant for a topic to blog about, our recent stint of standardized testing brought about a lunch discussion of teachers who help students with the test- aka cheat. I decided to look into the subject. I am happy to report after tediously searching news sites and Google-ing at large I found little current news on the subject. I did however find some new and some older reports worth looking at.
Cheating through teachers and administrators has been statistically estimated to occur in 4-5% of elementary classrooms. Cheating comes in three basic forms; prompting students to choose another answer when they have answered incorrectly, outright changing incorrect answers after the tests have been collected, and falsifying student records so below par tests aren't counted toward annual yearly progress (AYP). It appears most suspicions of cheating are a result of erasure marks. The companies who score the test count the number of erasures on answer sheets and compare them against the average number of erasures. If a group of tests has a higher than average number of marks the tests are flagged. Early this year a popular veteran teacher's tests were flagged and she was suspended without pay pending investigation. Tests are also flagged when there is an uncommonly large improvement from one year to the next. In this case the schools testing practices come into question.
We are all under pressure to show improvement. ( I even panicked a tiny bit wondering how many time a student I was monitoring erased an answer.) the NCLB Act threatens everything from taking away federal funding to taking over a school's administration if progress is not evident through test scores. Administrators can look at scores and use them in teacher evaluations. high stake tests equal high pressure. I taught math for 2 years at a school that swings back and forth between AYP and Safe Harbor. I know the pressure that these tests create. I can't imagine continuing to teach if the pressure became so oppressive I considered cheating an option.
There are also districts that reward teachers for improving test scores. In Washington D.C., teachers who show a 20% improvement receive bonuses of about $3,000/teacher. principals who can show rapid improvement move up the career ladder; those who don't are let go. Greed or financial desperation can also initiate cheating however morally unacceptable it may seem to most of us.
When cheating is discovered a school's test scores are voided and the school receives a failing grade for AYP and Title I money is withheld. there is discussion whether students should retake the test. I am in favor of retakes as the scores become part of a student's record; why should a student be penalized for cheating they didn't commit? I also favor revoking any teacher's license when cheating is discovered. The most pressing issue is, why do teachers feel the need to cheat in the first place?
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What are we teaching our students?
ReplyDeleteLast year, I had to girls that I pulled their tests for cheating. They told me, "Mr. Russell, we were not cheating, she was just helping me with the answers!" I don't think we know what honesty and cheating are anymore. Maybe we need a state mandated policy on what honesty and cheating are.
You had a lot of good points about what drives teachers to cheat. I did not realize that pressures were heavily on the schools and TEACHERS as well. The tests were put in place to boost student achievement and teacher effectiveness, but in some cases it is doing the exact opposite.
You can tell a lot about a student’s parents by the student. Maybe, you can tell a lot about a teacher by the student as well. If they are cheaters, maybe they have seen this trait modeled!
Philip
You ask the question, "Why do teachers cheat?" I agree the pressure of AYP may be a factor. But there are other issues that I feel are equally to blame. We have politicians cheating all the time. We have professional athletes cheating all the time. We have professional coaches and team owners cheating all the time. What happens to them? They make their money by their successes, no matter how achieved.
ReplyDeleteIn the education world, we have people being recognized for progress of students, either in test scores or evaluation of projects. If the teacher gets rewarded for the success of the student, the temptation is there. Besides, what is cheating? Is file sharing cheating? We have been learning that milleniums prefer file sharing. Is helping students with projects cheating? How about if an adult does the project for them? How much help is cheating?
In my opinion, the bottom line is that until people get back to the importance of doing what is right, we will not have people acting professionally. This is especially true if we continue to put emphasis on rewarding based on test scores-the temptation to cheat will continue.
How could teacher "cheat" and have a clear mind? I would be sick with guilt if I did that. I can see how teachers 'teach' to the test to make AYP but to actually cheat blows my mind.
ReplyDeleteThat Washington schools sounds a lot like merit pay. I do not agree with giving bonuses and letting those go if they do not make AYP. Where would a lot of first year teachers be? I remember my first year, I felt like I was hanging on by a thread.
Wow! I had no idea teachers would think of adjusting student's tests to create a better score. I can't imagine ever doing that. But as you stated, the pressures to meet AYP is very high. I could also see how cheating on a test would look good if you were given perks for student performance. But the question comes to mind, if so much is riding on test scores are teachers going to just start teaching to the test? I only teach second grade and we have yearly goals of each student making target growth on MAP tests. The teachers in my school have had discussions on what is an appropriate use of test content to mold our teaching. I say to use the test as a guideline and teach to the best of your ability. If a student doesn't make growth there might be underlying issues. I also agree a student should be able to retake the test, because let’s face it, we all have bad days every now and then.
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