Teh One Who Knocks
11-07-2011, 12:04 PM
The number of California teachers who have been accused of cheating, lesser misconduct or mistakes on standardized achievement tests has raised alarms about the pressure to improve scores.
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
http://i.imgur.com/OPTlP.jpg
The stress was overwhelming.
For years, this veteran teacher had received exemplary evaluations but now was feeling pressured to raise her students' test scores. Her principal criticized her teaching and would show up to take notes on her class. She knew the material would be used against her one day.
"My principal told me right to my face that she — she was feeling sorry for me because I don't know how to teach," the instructor said.
The Los Angeles educator, who did not want to be identified, is one of about three dozen in the state accused this year of cheating, lesser misconduct or mistakes on standardized achievement tests.
The teachers came from 23 schools and 21 districts — an unprecedented number that has raised alarms about the pressure California educators are under to improve test scores. In the worst alleged cases, teachers are accused of changing incorrect responses or filling in missing ones after students returned answer booklets.
Many accused teachers have denied doing anything wrong. But documents and interviews suggest that an increasing focus on test scores has created an atmosphere of such intimidation that the idea teachers would cheat has become plausible.
"One teacher has personally confided in me that if her job was on the line, she indeed would cheat to get the higher test scores," one Los Angeles-area instructor said. "The testing procedures haven't been secure over the past 10-plus years. Some of the 'most effective' teachers could be simply the 'most cunning.' "
None of the accused teachers contacted by The Times were willing to be identified. For the most part, even their colleagues declined to be interviewed, saying that any comments about their schools would only continue the ignominy.
But in off-the-record comments or reports filed with school districts, the accused have spoken of their motivations, their errors or their innocence. Many talked about the devastation that the cheating cases have wrought on their lives and their schools.
"I am losing my sleep over it," the Los Angeles teacher said in an interview. The teacher, who taught at Virgil Middle School in Wilshire Center, denied cheating but retired under pressure. "I got so scared. I am crying now. It really broke my heart."
Cheating has been uncovered across the country as more states and school districts have made test results the key factor in teacher evaluations.
Investigations have found serious cases of cheating in Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Atlanta's experience has become a parable for a system gone awry. Investigators there found cheating at 44 of the 56 schools they examined and identified 178 people thought to be involved.
This year's spate of misconduct in California ran the gamut:
A teacher in Chula Vista last spring gave students portions of the test to help them prepare. A teacher in San Francisco gave students hints during the exams. In La Quinta, a teacher violated rules by reading test questions and passages aloud.
The teacher at Virgil Middle School was accused of scanning the test and using actual exam questions to prepare students.
The number of alleged cheaters is minuscule compared with the 300,000 teachers in California. For the vast majority, cheating remains unthinkable.
"I can't for the life of me understand why a teacher would risk their job over this stuff," said Tina Andres, a middle school math teacher in Orange County.
But, she added: "Of course, many of them probably feel that they could lose their job if they don't."
It's a bind that teachers struggle with in the face of declining resources and students who often lack support and resources from home.
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
http://i.imgur.com/OPTlP.jpg
The stress was overwhelming.
For years, this veteran teacher had received exemplary evaluations but now was feeling pressured to raise her students' test scores. Her principal criticized her teaching and would show up to take notes on her class. She knew the material would be used against her one day.
"My principal told me right to my face that she — she was feeling sorry for me because I don't know how to teach," the instructor said.
The Los Angeles educator, who did not want to be identified, is one of about three dozen in the state accused this year of cheating, lesser misconduct or mistakes on standardized achievement tests.
The teachers came from 23 schools and 21 districts — an unprecedented number that has raised alarms about the pressure California educators are under to improve test scores. In the worst alleged cases, teachers are accused of changing incorrect responses or filling in missing ones after students returned answer booklets.
Many accused teachers have denied doing anything wrong. But documents and interviews suggest that an increasing focus on test scores has created an atmosphere of such intimidation that the idea teachers would cheat has become plausible.
"One teacher has personally confided in me that if her job was on the line, she indeed would cheat to get the higher test scores," one Los Angeles-area instructor said. "The testing procedures haven't been secure over the past 10-plus years. Some of the 'most effective' teachers could be simply the 'most cunning.' "
None of the accused teachers contacted by The Times were willing to be identified. For the most part, even their colleagues declined to be interviewed, saying that any comments about their schools would only continue the ignominy.
But in off-the-record comments or reports filed with school districts, the accused have spoken of their motivations, their errors or their innocence. Many talked about the devastation that the cheating cases have wrought on their lives and their schools.
"I am losing my sleep over it," the Los Angeles teacher said in an interview. The teacher, who taught at Virgil Middle School in Wilshire Center, denied cheating but retired under pressure. "I got so scared. I am crying now. It really broke my heart."
Cheating has been uncovered across the country as more states and school districts have made test results the key factor in teacher evaluations.
Investigations have found serious cases of cheating in Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Atlanta's experience has become a parable for a system gone awry. Investigators there found cheating at 44 of the 56 schools they examined and identified 178 people thought to be involved.
This year's spate of misconduct in California ran the gamut:
A teacher in Chula Vista last spring gave students portions of the test to help them prepare. A teacher in San Francisco gave students hints during the exams. In La Quinta, a teacher violated rules by reading test questions and passages aloud.
The teacher at Virgil Middle School was accused of scanning the test and using actual exam questions to prepare students.
The number of alleged cheaters is minuscule compared with the 300,000 teachers in California. For the vast majority, cheating remains unthinkable.
"I can't for the life of me understand why a teacher would risk their job over this stuff," said Tina Andres, a middle school math teacher in Orange County.
But, she added: "Of course, many of them probably feel that they could lose their job if they don't."
It's a bind that teachers struggle with in the face of declining resources and students who often lack support and resources from home.