Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for May 5, 2005 HIGH STAKES TESTING

Tip of the iceberg and a preview of coming attractions...

As school districts face the public humiliation of being labeled a "failing school" - and the prospect of severe sanctions and loss of money - they will put more and more pressure on employees to raise test scores...by any means necessary! As employees face the prospect of losing their jobs in circumstances that they see as unfair - tests over unknown material by students who have no stake in the tests - they will be tempted to resort to unethical/illegal methods!

Be forewarned...Big Brother is watching!

As for the "cheating teachers"...hard to believe that they could be that "dumb". I mean if one of THEIR normally failing students made an "A" on a test in their classroom...would they just assume that the student finally applied himself/herself...or would the teacher strongly suspect cheating...especially if there was an obvious pattern. Can't sympathize too much there...they should have known better...cheated better!

I do have sympathy for the Iowa teacher(s) who taught material "similar" to what was on the test. I mean...isn't that what WE do every day in our classrooms?! Isn't that what we are supposed to do?! How many of you teach one thing...and then test over another thing? How "valid" and "reliable" is that? What would be the reaction of your students...and their parents? Would expect a few "testy" parent-teacher conferences over that teaching approach!

BUT...that is exactly the situation with which WE deal daily. Illinois refuses...despite repeated requests...to tell us what is on the test...to provide us with textbooks that contain the material over which the students will be tested. Oh, yeah, they give us "goals" and "standards"...general enough to include everything in our textbook...and beyond!

So...a teacher...in fear of losing his/her professional career and livlihood...sneaks a peek at what will be on the test and gives the students practice problems of a similar nature...and gets fired. "There, but for the grace of God..."

Okay...enough preaching! Below is the article that prompted my outburst...the Associated Press reporting on President George W. Bush's home state...the very District that brought us (former) U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige...and the current U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Talk about in-breeding!

Could this be how THEY achieved the high test scores that lauched their educational masterpiece...No Child Left Behind? I'll never tell...

Houston schools to fire six teachers in cheating scandal

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- Administrators in Texas' largest school district said Wednesday they plan to fire six teachers and demote two principals and an assistant principal after finding evidence of cheating on state tests at four schools.

Houston Independent School District Superintendent Abe Saavedra said three other district employees, including a principal, will receive formal reprimands.

A Dallas Morning News review of standardized test scores throughout the state prompted a handful of Texas school districts to investigate test results at individual schools from recent years.

The Houston district began an internal investigation four months ago after finding unexplained jumps in scores and statistical irregularities on standardized tests at 23 schools, Saavedra said.

Two months into the investigation, Saavedra announced the district had identified two teachers at an elementary school who assisted students on the state exam. The district has recommended those teachers be fired, and has demoted the school's principal.

On Wednesday, Saavedra said the investigation was over and confirmed cheating occurred at another three elementary schools. At those schools, four teachers have been recommended for firing and a principal and an assistant principal will be demoted, he said.

At one school, investigators found that four eighth-graders were taken from their regular classrooms to another room where a math teacher helped them answer questions. The four answered all of the test questions the same way -- and incorrectly answered the same two questions.

Robert Moore, the district's inspector general who led the review, said all the teachers and administrators accused have denied wrongdoing.

Chris Tritico, an attorney for one of the principals and two of the teachers fighting to retain their jobs, claimed investigators picked a target "and then molded their facts around that target."

Other schools around the nation have faced similar incidents.

In Iowa, science test results for a seventh-grade class have been invalidated and a teacher has resigned after administrators discovered he quizzed students on materials found in the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the district's superintendent said.

"They were talking about things that were awfully close to the test itself," said Tim Hoffman, Adel-DeSoto-Minburn's superintendent. "Students still had to figure things out, but the public has to depend on us to maintain the integrity of those tests."