Another group of teachers has been caught cheating with respect to their students' tests and were subsequently arrested. I don't know the details of this specific case, nor do I know why these people did what they did, but I do think we should look at some of the possible reasons because this seems to keep happening.
Before I continue and for the record, I agree with assessment (growth) and evaluation (measurement) and I also agree with both assessment and evaluation against standards, which is why I think the Common Core is a good thing. The problems come from not differentiating assessment from evaluation (terms may vary) and from the misuse of either or both, and by misuse I mean misapplication of the instruments and misinterpretation of the results.
The particular issue is these evaluations are "high-stakes", in other words all depends on one test taken once. That in and of itself is not a bad thing. However, these results are then taken as revealing everything (and sometimes anything), for example teacher performance or student achievement or school effectiveness. The reality is that they do none of these things.
For example, statisticians will tell you that single-data points do not really mean anything. What matters is having multiple data points, for example over time. Tests such as this taken over 10 years might reveal things like student or school performance, or teacher or school effectiveness, however a single test will not.
Similarly, these tests reveal nothing about growth or development. A student who enters a school or a program at point "0" on a scale and scores a "4" has made significant progress. However if the standard is a "5", the test shows s/he has failed. If s/he entered the school or program with a "4", this student's progress is significantly less than his/her classmate which is not shown, or even sought.
The other set of major problems associated with high-stakes testing concerns the misuse of the results. District or school funding is often tied to results, as is sometimes teacher salary, promotion or even employment status.
However, every teacher in every school will tell you that things outside academic level can and do interfere with performance. For example, a student who is involved in or witnesses an accident on the way to school will be affected by this experience, at least to some degree. A student who misses the bus or for some other reason arrives late, will not be at his/her best. A student who is ill, or who has not had breakfast, or who has to get siblings off to school before s/he can ready him/herself, clearly has stressors other students do not.
None of these factors fall within the purview or even the sphere of influence of any teacher or school. Yet, in too many cases, teachers and schools are punished and lose salary, employment or funding and this is why teachers may be driven to put a finger or two on the scales.
I am not saying that teachers and administyrators who cheat are right in doing so, should do so or should be excused. However, I am saying that how high-stakes tasting works and how test scores are then used is wrong, and this should be changed.
**Please leave questions and comments below.**
Further Reading
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/why-teachers-cheat/480039/
https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/when-teachers-cheat-the-standardized-test-controversies
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