Does pressure make principals cheat?
An article by Heather Vogell looked at the pressure placed on principals to improve students’ test scores and their school’s standing with regard to federal testing goals.
The story focused on principals at two of the four schools accused of cheating on last summer’s fifth-grade math CRCT retest.
Those of you who work in schools know how the reward/penalty game works.
If your school does well, the superintendent or others will come and visit. The principal gets on a fast-track for more lucrative positions and the accolades come pouring in every which way.
If the school does poorly, the principal and teachers can be placed on an improvement plan. Principals are warned they could be demoted or switched to a different school.
There’s no denying that principals face a ton of pressure from school officials, parents and community members.
The vast majority of them handle it well without cheating or turning a blind eye to when it occurs. A few do not.
What pushes some principals to cheat?
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72 comments Add your comment
Dr. Craig Spinks /Evans
July 21st, 2009
1:07 am
Not pressure but a lack of courage and of a sense of professional duty!
Dr. Craig Spinks /Evans
July 21st, 2009
1:11 am
SE GA Teacher, what is your local system, your local RESA and the GDOE doing to disseminate your principal’s story and techniques throughout your county, your area and our state? Nothing, nothing and nothing? craigspinks@aol.com
clyde
July 21st, 2009
2:07 am
Just for the record,a 2000 pound elephant isn’t really that big.It only looks big because it is in a confined classroom.
And,by the way,people cheat because they want to.I don’t believe it’s any more complicated than that.
Upset Parent
July 21st, 2009
2:46 am
Reality2 – I will politely say that you make such useless statements. Yes, Dr. Suess is so reality.
Close friends with teachers
July 21st, 2009
3:24 am
While shameful, knowing something about the profession (a relative was also a teacher) and the high-stakes placed on the CRCT, “making” AYP, and having labels such as “National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence” (a word or two may be out of order here), teachers feel the burn of the bright lights on them. Some administrators work to help, some dictate, some oversee slightly, and some look for mistakes by the teachers; as a result, I can see the temptation to cheat simply proved too great to resist for the aforementioned metro Atlanta schools. Unfortunately, it does NOT surprise me. Having been let in on some “inside” info. (nothing to endanger these teachers’ jobs), principals of the bullying and/or “hit-man” variety have further permeated school systems in the metro Atlanta area. Some schools that had not met AYP in SEVERAL years made it suddenly last year (end of the 2007-2008 year) with a decidedly less focused student body. This and too many other factors make it seem too unlikely for the school to have made it without the principal having made some “deal” and/or “influenced” some things to intervene on the schools’ behalf. Do I want to believe the school made it of its own accord? You bet; however, knowing something about the principal’s personality and how the person targeted individuals whom he/she thought were not of HIS ilk (plus, the principal’s minions were always on the lookout for him), I doesn’t surprise the person was not caught last year. By the way, the school is in Cobb; by the way again. . . the way the teachers explain it, here in Georgia (and the Deep South in general), you DON’T speak up against unethical/immoral/power-mad/empire-building/well-connected principals and other administrators if you want to have a career last – unions don’t have much of a presence when it comes to the South, and the teachers don’t have strong enough protection against these “leaders” at their schools. In summary, I’ve heard (and seen, in some cases) enough at some schools and what happens to the teachers that some principals (or their underlings, if they themselves stroll in at 1:30 as the one teacher mentioned above and let the assistants have the run of the place) “fix” problems so the resolutions are to their liking. Where the unions are stronger up north and in the midwest, the school systems are generally stronger, the state as a whole has a strong image, and you don’t hear nearly as much about the problems and the pathetic test scores!! Also, isn’t the CRCT (the test questions) created and/or revised every year by writers for Riverside Publishing Company (or some similar name)?? If so, then do they have teachers creating these test questions with the state curriculum next to notepads? If not, then WHY NOT?? I would think teachers, curriculum experts, and others who’ve had experience in a classroom, AND in overseeing the curriculum would have a better idea than a non-educator as to which questions really reach the heart of a unit’s objectives. If different states pooled together information (yes, I know. . . heaven forbid any southern state compare notes with OTHER states to see what THEY do; the “we know our state and don’t need help from ANY OTHER state” argument seems to persist) on test-making firms with PROVEN, SUCCESSFUL track records in creating tests which accomplish what the state curriculum planners want them to accomplish, then perhaps a general increase would set in across the country with state test scores!!! I don’t doubt there are forward-thinking states, along with their respective leaders, who’ve already found ways to beat the trend of poor state test scores – I just wish other, less fortunate state leaders would “step outside themselves” for a minute to consider someone else JUST MIGHT have a better, more interesting idea! Then. . . maybe. . . there would be more success in heading off school administrators who cheat on these tests (I won’t forget central office staffs at these school systems – some of them, I heard, are even more “into themselves” and their power than some of the principals)!!!!!
GA Educator
July 21st, 2009
11:22 am
Speaking of open records, perhaps it time to have open records to determine the good from the bad teachers and correlate the test scores with the teacher who taught the student. If A B and C teachers taught 5th grade in a school, you should be able to see which teacher taught little Johnny reading and compare their test scores.
Good teachers shouldn’t have to be branded ineffective just because the school falls short of desired standards. Open the books and see who is teaching effectively.
I am not saying that the CRCT is worth a flip because it’s not, but teaching for a test the entire year is not educating, it’s preparing for a limited goal that is measured on unfairly by people who think they know something about educating children. There are other instruments that better evaluate learning progress.
GA Educator
July 21st, 2009
11:49 am
There are so many people who know nothing at all about Get Schooled blog. Since this touches the very fabric of our community, the AJC should reference THIS blog site in large headlines every day so that peoople in the community…principals, teachers, parents, students, school districts, boards of education…will hear the concerns brought forth here on Get Schooled.
I have spoken to teachers who know nothing about these discussions. It should be front row and center, and that can only be done by the AJC.
Way Down South
July 21st, 2009
12:15 pm
Our principal is a sociopathic bully who assigns the lowest performing students to teachers he dislikes so he can go gunning for them using the poor test scores as ammo.
I saw examples of that. The teachers probably wanted to cheat but obviously stayed honest and were PDP’d right out the door.
just browsing
July 21st, 2009
12:40 pm
Hi Way Down South,
This was also done to me. I was assigned the lowest performing students, and ended up with them scoring a few points behind the gifted team. Needless to say, what was supposed to work- did not. The same thing was done to another colleague of mine who ended up with high scores for her grade level despite having low students. It is difficult, but if you are committed, it can be done. It is unfortunate that certain teachers are treated in this manner. I would love to see AJC do a report on teacher abuse and how this impacts the achieement of our students. The ethics professed by PSC is rarely enforced, teachers who speak out can be black balled unless they pursue grievance procedures with the assistance of legal professionals, and all the while, the main culprits, who happen to be administrators, are rarely ever sanctioned. This is an area which should receive considerably more attention. It is absoulutely rediculous.
GA Educator
July 21st, 2009
12:51 pm
I know that happens too, Way Down South. It happened at one school that I know of in Cobb County. This teacher was pulled from 5th grade, she was made to break down her absolutely stunning classroom and moved to a room next to the office and given a 4th grade instead, (the teacher who had the room next to the office had to pull up and move so the principal could make this change.) When moved to 4th grade in a room next to the office, her class was made up of all the worst students from the previous years 3rd grade…(all the 3rd grade teachers from the previous year asked her how this could happen because they saw right off the bat the makeup of her 4th grade class)…The principal rode her like a broke pony ALL YEAR LONG and in early April, put her on a three week PDP, told her she didn’t pass, and the PDP committee along with the principal told her that she HAD TO resign or be non renewed.
I tell you that this was an awesome, dynamic teacher that parents jockeyed for for their upcoming 5th graders. What a shame. The teacher is without a job for the upcoming year…WHAT A SHAME.
To Way Down South
July 21st, 2009
1:31 pm
I think I have met your principal. Either your principal works for the Cobb County School District or has been moonlighting at your school? Oh sorry, you said he… my principal is female. It was common knowledge that the teachers in this elementary school that the principal did not care for were over stacked with behavioral and academic issues. Other teachers on the same team were not assigned any! Colleagues would walk past us in the hall and inquire as to why we had student 1,2,3 etc. together in the same classroom. Then they would ask what we did to get on the principal’s sh*t list. Anyone who did not do what she wanted (right or wrong)would be bullied. Period. It was intentional and power based. Isn’t that what bullying is afterall? Our school had the nerve to be participating in the Olweus Bullying Program. Every classroom had to have the posters on the wall. Also the halls were filled with the same. That is the same program that Dekalb county claimed to participate in, yet a 5th grader committed suicide earlier this year. Many schools say they do not condone bullying for students and staff, but that is NOT THE CASE. Teachers are afraid to tell and the area and district superintendents cannot be trusted. They do not reprimand the principals. Word gets back to the principal that you are a trouble maker and then you get PDP’d. The principal leans on the PDP process to oust those she does not like. Those who will NOT turn a blind eye.
just browsing
July 21st, 2009
2:49 pm
The horror stories that many of us share would make for a bestseller. Exposing the undercurrents of the teacher profession for what they are could be useful to prospective teachers in teacher education programs. Maybe then they can be armed with the knowlege necessary to help inform their decisions PRIOR to entering into this profession. The nasty aspects are rarely discussed, and extend beyond NCLB. The teaching climates in Georgia have declined to such a degree, that even I am pondering a mid-career change. The most dissapointing thing about it is that I enjoy what I do, but have little tolerance for the social politics that complicate my efforts.
Cere
July 21st, 2009
5:48 pm
To clarify, just browsing – you are only talking about PUBLIC school teachers. I don’t think these issues come up in private schools. You may want to check them out if you desire a change.
To Just Browsing
July 21st, 2009
10:25 pm
As an educator I am advising those hoping to make a difference in the lives of children to seriously think before becoming an educator. Bad experiences eventually extinguish that desire. I no longer believe in the overall process. Teachers can no longer teach. Standards are understandable but the pressure from administrators that is unfair and a recipe for disaster is unaccepatable. For many the strain is not worth it. The burden on finances, families and overall wellbeing can be too much. In this field, advance degrees are necessary, yet districts do not compensate. One of the teacher associations ran an article about a year ago in reference to the education costs of teachers. The student loans will last far longer than the career for some. Many of us will be paying off the fruits of our labor even after we leave the profession for good.
Gwinnett Resident
July 21st, 2009
10:50 pm
They cheat because it comes more naturally to them than working.
Gwinnett Resident
July 21st, 2009
11:21 pm
ScienceTeacher671 said “the standards are set so low as to be meaningless, and we all know it.”
That is what makes the notion of cheating to make AYP so ridiculous to me. If these schools can’t reach a bar that they should have stubbed their collective toes on, then the entire school system should be up for termination.
This leads me to my biggest problem with our education system: the BA in Education. It shouldn’t exist. We need teachers who are masters in the subjects they teach, not masters at making rubrics. I’d much rather have a mathematician with a little bit of teacher training teaching my child algebra than a education major with a little bit of math training.
Alas, hiring a mathematician would be expensive. So our wealthy elected officials keep the status quo knowing that they’ll NEVER need to send THEIR children to public schools.
Way Down South
July 22nd, 2009
8:39 am
Alot of our time is spent making rubrics and funsy paper and glue activities for high school students. The kids love it, administration looks for it and no one learns a darn thing.
teacher , married to a teacher and mother of 2
July 22nd, 2009
2:13 pm
Read Testing Miss Malarkey!!!
Even better read than Dr. Seuss’ Diffendoofer Day~Use both with my classes to explain the pressures that we as teachers feel and it helps them understand.
Been There. . . Done, well. . . just done!
July 23rd, 2009
3:39 am
Having been in a Cobb County classroom, and having seen some references to Cobb, I can only say I worked FOR a male principal (yes, if you’re on HIS staff, you’re HIS property. . just the general vibe about the man), and what I saw, was heard by others, seen by others, etc., seems eerily reminiscent of what “Way Down South”, “GA Educator”, and “To Way Down South” experienced during THEIR time in Cobb. Since there seem to have been too many times teachers have been “set up” to “take a fall” for some power-mad administrator, perhaps someone should contact the state attorney general for egregious problems/situations. From some comments I’ve read, the PSC doesn’t seem too inclined to do much! If some of these principals get away with murder time-after-time (and I HOPE the anecdotes mentioned indicate only a FEW out of the entire pool are guilty of this), then maybe something needs to be put in place regarding a school’s retention of its teachers(?).
Liz
July 23rd, 2009
11:24 am
are any of you aware that Atlanta Public Schools is competing for a major grant from the Gates Foundation to improve the performance of teachers? retention, performance pay, etc….
Hey Been There... just done!
July 23rd, 2009
11:29 pm
I have been there. Kathy Cox is aware of the issues in Cobb County School District so is superintendent Fred Sanderson, the board members and the media. They are in a STATE OF DENIAL!! I cannot believe that no matter who is blowing the horn they all wear earplugs. It would be nice for AJC to investigate how many teachers and staff have legitimately complained only to get a deaf ear. There should be a full blown investigation. Principals are left to power-trip at the expense of the staff only to not be checked by the county office. Many educators would be more than happy to sit on anyones stand and testify to the injustices if they felt sure that the state really had the best interest of the educator at heart. As it stands, it is a cover-up for eminent disaster. Once the lid is off the can of worms it may be hard to get it back on. For now, PSC is content leaving it where it is. Teacher retention needs to be addressed on the state level. Leaving it up to the schools to become the soundboard (when the problem may be AT the school) is problematic. Retaliation is alive and well amongst many administrators. Telling on one of them within the same school or district is career suicide.
donnether
July 25th, 2009
5:18 am
Principals get away with murder all the time so why was this question even asked. If you are not one of his suck-ups you catch all the hell. I know the principal where I am can’t stand me and thats okay. I don’t believe I will ever work at a school where there is an honest principal who see things as they are and don’t cheat to make themselves look good.