For 10 years, hundreds of Atlanta public school teachers and principals changed answers on state tests in one of the largest cheating scandals in U.S. history, according to a scathing 413-page investigative report released Tuesday by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal.
More than three quarters of the 56 schools investigated cheated on a 2009 standardized state test, with 178 educators implicated, including 38 principals. Eighty-two teachers confessed to erasing students’ answers and correcting tests. The report says widespread cheating has occurred since at least 2001 and that orders to cheat came from the top.
Educators Implicated in Atlanta Cheating Scandal
Three primary conditions led to widespread cheating on the 2009 CRCT:
– The targets set by the district were often unrealistic, especially given their cumulative effect over the years. Additionally, the administration put unreasonable pressure on teachers and principals to achieve targets;
– A culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation spread throughout the district; and,
– Dr. Hall and her administration emphasized test results and public praise to the exclusion of integrity and ethics.
Governor’s Report – Part 3
It seems like the primary problem was not the teachers or the principals, but pressure from Superintendent Beverly Hall in raising test scores. Teachers were willing to cheat in order to keep their jobs.
Links:
Full Report – Creative Loafing
6 Atlanta school educators removed amid cheating scandal
Atlanta Cheating Scandal Unveiled By Reporters