Cheating scandal a serious crisis for Atlanta schools
By most accounts, Atlanta schools Superintendent Beverly Hall runs a very tight ship. She demands results and she produces results.
However, results of a different type now threaten to undermine much of what Hall has accomplished. Strong evidence of widespread, perhaps systematic cheating on state-mandated tests within Atlanta public schools now calls into question not just the effectiveness of the Atlanta system but its basic integrity.
How Hall responds to that evidence will determine both her legacy and her continued ability to lead the district.
Sparked by an earlier AJC investigation that found evidence of cheating on state tests, Gov. Sonny Perdue ordered a probe of all state-mandated tests taken last year by Georgia students in grades 1-8. Every single test was inspected for evidence that wrong answers had been erased and changed to correct answers.
Of course, students often change answers in the course of taking a test. The state’s analysis found that on average, a student might change one or two answers on each test from wrong to right.
However, according to an erasure analysis conducted by CTB-McGraw Hill, the vendor that provides Georgia’s statewide tests, results at several hundred Georgia schools showed evidence of erasures well beyond what you would ordinarily expect. The company estimated the odds of such excessive erasures occurring naturally at one in a thousand.
The analysis also found that at 74 schools statewide, including 43 in Atlanta alone, more than a quarter of the classrooms tested showed evidence of erasures well beyond the ordinary.
At Parks Middle School in Atlanta, for example, almost 90 percent of classrooms tested showed evidence of an abnormal number of answers being changed from wrong to right.
State officials have stressed that the statistical evidence does not constitute proof of cheating in any particular classroom, a point that Hall repeated in a telephone interview Thursday. Smaller class sizes in Atlanta public schools also increase the odds that test results of a particular classroom might have been skewed.
Those are important caveats. Unfortunately, at best they can only mitigate the overall findings. They cannot explain the sheer scale of anomalies found at Atlanta public schools. They cannot explain, to cite just one example, how an average of 27 of 70 answers in one fourth-grade math class were changed from wrong to right.
The evidence that something has gone seriously wrong seems inescapable.
And as a strong supporter of public education, and as a father of two children who thrived in the Atlanta public schools, I do not come to that conclusion lightly.
In the interview Thursday, Hall reiterated her belief that poor, urban students are not fated to fail.
The considerable progress shown in Atlanta public schools over a decade of her leadership is often cited as proof of that fact, and she expressed sincere concern that the accomplishments of Atlanta students might now be tainted.
On the other hand, “cheating is never acceptable,” Hall said, pledging “an independent review of every classroom, every teacher and every principal” where problems might exist
.
Nationwide, the growing emphasis on standardized testing as a means of holding teachers and principals accountable is controversial. Hall has embraced that approach with a passion, using an intensely data-driven approach to demand measurable improvement from principals and teachers alike.
But as a consequence of that high-pressure environment, it now seems almost certain that some employees turned to cheating to produce results they could not achieve by legitimate means.
Until now, the Atlanta Board of Education has given Hall the freedom and support that any good superintendent needs to restructure a stubborn bureaucracy. But to protect both Hall and the district, the board now needs to take a strong leadership role in ensuring an independent, aggressive investigation of these allegations.
This is not merely a case of cheating the system, of misleading bureaucrats. The biggest victims are the students themselves. Their parents were reassured that their children were performing adequately and did not need additional help.
In too many cases, it appears, that simply wasn’t true.
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380 comments Add your comment
Normal
February 12th, 2010
8:56 am
Whiner,
If our educational system were truly social, it would be like in the Netherlands where at a certain age, 12 I think, children are given a aptitude test and how they score the most adept at is their path of study, no matter if they want that career or not.
But the way our “educational” system is going, which one is better for the child?
What ever happened to holding kids back a grade if they couldn’t pass?
My dad always told me I’d finish high school, even if I could legally buy beer before I graduated. I passed.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
8:57 am
Gale – 8:49 – I sooooooo agree with you – the UK did the same thing and they’re wishing they hadn’t, as well … college isn’t for everyone – we will always need good carpenters, electricians, plumbers and the like – and not everyone is cut out for university. there’s nothing wrong and nothing elitist in that.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 12th, 2010
8:57 am
We teach whole segments of our society that they should expect to be carried around on the shoulders of everyone else, that there are no consequences for their bad decisions, that they have no responsibility that is too small for the government to handle for them, see any recent speech from our current president, why should they exert any efforts to educate themselves?
Why bother?
Outhouse GoKart
February 12th, 2010
8:58 am
“No Child Left Behind, ah yes!”
Ya…its the fault of Bush. Just more examples of usual/typical blame game.
Perhaps some pink slips for those teachers involved might motivate the others to act accordingly. Oh but wait…we cant terminate anyone cuz that would be wrong. LOL. Yep…we can promote a child strait into prison but cant punish/terminate an adult.
Makes sense.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:02 am
“that they have no responsibility that is too small for the government to handle for them, see any recent speech from our current president”
oh. please. do cite. link and quote, please.
please show all of us where Obama has said that people don’t have any responsibilities – that it’s all on the government’s shoulders, now.
back it up, buddy. back. it. up.
Jenifer
February 12th, 2010
9:04 am
Teachers and students alike are stressed out because of the ridiculous testing.
I have a neighbor who is a teacher, a wonderful guy, but he’s like a different person during testing time.
I have a friend whose 2nd grader has nightmares about the damn testing.
A 2nd grader!
Del
February 12th, 2010
9:04 am
Unfortunately, Georgia probably isn’t the only state that’s experiencing this issue. The public school system has been seriously degraded by their union.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:05 am
Del – “The public school system has been seriously degraded by their union.”
what does the teacher’s union have to do with this?
JDW
February 12th, 2010
9:06 am
Gale, I think that the lack of vocational schools is more a result of reduced funding rather than a party. You have to face the facts, there are very few liberals making decisions in GA politics.
j$
February 12th, 2010
9:06 am
Too bad they can’t audit how many grades are manipulated so students remain eligible for HOPE.
Matilda
February 12th, 2010
9:07 am
Actually, Outhouse, the implementation of No Child Left Behind provided a capitalistic opportunity for George Bush’s brother Neil and old family friends. Business Week reports:
“Across the country, some teachers complain that President George W. Bush’s makeover of public education promotes “teaching to the test.” The President’s younger brother Neil takes a different tack: He’s selling to the test. The No Child Left Behind Act compels schools to prove students’ mastery of certain facts by means of standardized exams. Pressure to perform has energized the $1.9 billion-a-year instructional software industry. Now, after five years of development and backing by investors like Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and onetime junk-bond king Michael R. Milken, Neil Bush aims to roll his high-tech teacher’s helpers into classrooms nationwide. He calls them “curriculum on wheels,” or COWs. The $3,800 purple plug-and-play computer/projectors display lively videos and cartoons….”
For more: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005059.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives
Bob
February 12th, 2010
9:08 am
http: //blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/02/bill-clinton-bl.html
It seems as though Bill Clinton thinks that the flaws of No Childs Left Behind were the fault of Kennedy.
Jay
February 12th, 2010
9:08 am
Del, I know that’s the knee-jerk explanation, but Georgia doesn’t have teacher unions. No right to strike, no collective bargaining, none of that. They have weak “associations” that lobby, offer insurance, etc., but no unions.
Road Scholar
February 12th, 2010
9:10 am
Granny G: Got the same trainning in elementary school from the nuns! I remember the 12 inch wooden ruler with the metal band they used to “persuad” you to heed their direction. One rap across the nuckles… Also had a few nuns who could throw a blackboard eraser the length of the room and hit her target square on line. Drew Brees and Manning had nothing on them! Neither do some of the linemen!
As for “incompetence at GDOT, remember it was led from the top…Gov Perdue. The staff and managemnt are competent. But when you are led and dominated by politicians, then…
The funding fiasco was led by Perdue to get more projects let…initially. He sold bonds… w/o factoring in the long term principal and debt service to future available revenues. He was briefed regularly on the accounting change from up front funding (encumbered funds) to credit card style funding (monthly income tracking monthly bills) and now fains disbelief that this was possibly illegal. Yeah, right. And you have to remember that the Board is made up of people elected to serve by the politicians (with many board members are ex politicians and developers).
As for the ramp meeters, they have had a positive effect when traffic does not approch log jams on the receiving road. They space cars out to not severely clog the entrancelanes at the main highway. Once the main highway becomes clog, esp due to downstream congestion, they are turned off. As Keith Kallan used to say” Put a fork in it”.
A secondary effect is to limit short trips on the interstates that need to be taking the local roads vs the Interstate…One or two exit downstream trips that overload the entrance and exit ramps. This effect is also the result of not having true arterials, roads with limited/controlled access which move traffic faster than a surface street but not as fast as an interstate.
Now for responding on subject. Let the alledged offending schools take the test again and compare the results without the teachers in attendance. If they change a similar number of answers then they are innocent. If not and the scores are lower, have the offending teacher pay for giving the test and then fire them! If the own up before hand, suspend them. Clean up this mess promptly, or I’m sending in my nuns!
Bosch
February 12th, 2010
9:11 am
NCLB basically sets the public school systems up to fail. Schools must improve from year to year – even schools that score high on standardized tests one year must improve the next or they are considered a failure. It’s a way for the GOP to justify privatizing schools – most people saw this coming, and USinUK is right, when you tie funding to standardized scores it’s a no brainer as to why this happens.
Finn McCool
February 12th, 2010
9:11 am
They got Limbaugh on tape after he was admitted to the “socialist” health care hospital in Hawaii saying it was the best health care experience he ever had.
A few days later he’s on his show trying to take it back. “What i wanted to say was that I’m glad this happened now before 2013 when obama’s health care goes into effect.”
What a waste of oxygen.
Del
February 12th, 2010
9:11 am
USinUK,
They protect those who would engage in such fraud.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:11 am
“You have to face the facts, there are very few liberals making decisions in GA politics.”
JDW – true, that … even the Dems that were in charge of state government were very conservative – Tom Murphy was a lot of things – liberal, however, was not one of them …
RW-(the original)
February 12th, 2010
9:11 am
Patrick Kennedy has decided not to suffer the indignity of defeat and won’t seek reelection. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time when so many people in the “ruling” party have decided to walk away.
/Sorry for the off topic comment.
Bosch
February 12th, 2010
9:12 am
There are no teacher unions in GA. There are teacher organizations, but no “unions” in the traditional sense of the term. That idea is a fallacy.
Call it like it is.
February 12th, 2010
9:12 am
This is very simple Jay, the schools fail because they are run by the government and people who can’t make it in the private sector. How many other institutions can you name where your staff went to college to specifically get a job where the starting income is less then satisfactory? Take that job, then immediately gripe about their income? Then when they are held accountable for their actions, they can either buckle down and actually do their job or take the easy way out and cheat.
And also what other industry can you skirt the system by just barely doing enough, then gain tenure and have to have an act of congress to be removed if you sux? We all know what happen to Barnes when he tried to remove tenure. The teacher unions pounced on him. Let’s face the facts if you have skill, knowledge, ambition, your probably not going to be a public educator.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:13 am
Del –
“They protect those who would engage in such fraud.”
first of all, we don’t know WHO was cheating (remember, these are standardized tests, so this is much more of an administrative-level issue than teachers)
secondly, as Jay said, GA doesn’t have teachers unions as you describe them –
so, nice try … but, not so much.
Jenifer
February 12th, 2010
9:14 am
Yes, we have the deniers and birthers and flat earthers and such making decisions in our education system in Georgia.
A crying shame.
Brad Steel
February 12th, 2010
9:14 am
… we will always need good carpenters, electricians, plumbers and the like…
actually, no. it’s casually called the housing market crash. you may have heard of this way-below-the-radar phenomena. i hear it’s happening in vegas. but take heart, it will probably end after 7 years or so. that should be no problem for the tradesmen.
but we always need to support an easy bail-out from rigorous education.
Call it like it is.
February 12th, 2010
9:14 am
Okay Bosch, ask Roy Barnes about the fallacy of teacher unions or lack there of as you say.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:14 am
“the schools fail because they are run by the government and people who can’t make it in the private sector”
OMFG. and I’ll bet he actually believes that, too …
midtownguy
February 12th, 2010
9:15 am
Poor, urban students might not be “fated” to fail but they sure face an uphill climb. The same is true of rural poor children. They are raised in homes without computers, books and parents who value education. I believe in her zeal to prove that urban poor children can achieve, she created a culture where cheating was ignored. And as always in Atlanta, when the poor and failing children are majority black there is a whole other ugly side to the debate. I would be interested to know how many of the “cheating schools” are majority black/hispanic as to how many are majority white. Also, did any of the schools in middle class neighborhoods cheat>
She has to be fired.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:15 am
“ask Roy Barnes about the fallacy of teacher unions or lack there of as you say.”
ba-HA … a crappy governor loses and election and that’s proof of a teacher’s union???
Road Scholar
February 12th, 2010
9:15 am
j$: those students are audited in their first year of college. That’s when they either make it, or drop out since they can’t pass the work. Unfortunately it takes one year to find this out and waste the HOPE money.
joan
February 12th, 2010
9:16 am
This is absolutely disgusting. Any teacher complicit in this should be terminated with prejudice. Any child whose test was doctored has been victimized. The only person a cheat cheats is himself–in this case out of an education that will have worth. We have such low morals in this country and that those low morals now pervade our teachers is frightening and bodes ill for the future of the country.
TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
9:17 am
Well, I just hope my daughter isn’t too hard on me. I tried to prepare her for the SAT but she only made an 87% on it. I suppose we could move to Cobb County so she’ll score better.
Jenifer
February 12th, 2010
9:17 am
Will today be the day the Baptists get out of jail?
Road Scholar
February 12th, 2010
9:17 am
Jenifer @ 9:14: Exactly!
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:17 am
Brad –
“actually, no. it’s casually called the housing market crash. you may have heard of this way-below-the-radar phenomena”
wow. so, electricians ONLY build houses? plumbers ONLY work in new office spaces?
your toilet always works at your house? there are never any electrical storms that cause trees to fall on houses (sorry Bosch)
man. does the phrase “short-sighted” mean anything to you?
Del
February 12th, 2010
9:19 am
Jay,
I was referring to our public school system nationally and the teachers union has contributed a lot to undermining the quality of education nationally not just in Georgia. The Unions have fought tooth and nail to block standards for teachers and for education.
Finn McCool
February 12th, 2010
9:19 am
Brad, you must not own a home. Carpenters, electricians, etc, aren’t just employed on homes under construction.
I need a roofer and a good bathroom tile guy. I had en electrician out about a month ago.
Granny Godzilla
February 12th, 2010
9:21 am
Call it like it is…
“” How many other institutions can you name where your staff went to college to specifically get a job where the starting income is less then satisfactory? “”
Social Workers?
Public Defenders?
Police and Fire Fighters?
Reseachers?
I suspect this is a shock for you….but for a lot of us the bottom line
has and never will be $$$$.
Mind ya’ $$$$ can be loads of fun, but there are many things that
are loads better.
Corey
February 12th, 2010
9:21 am
Any report that mentions shortcomings in Atlanta will certainly bring out the bigots so they can party. I dare any of you Reporter, Outhouse and alike to walk up to the first minority you see and say what you feel.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:22 am
Del – 9:19 – and what does that have to do with cheating in GA?
Call it like it is.
February 12th, 2010
9:22 am
“USinUK”
ba-HA … a crappy governor loses and election and that’s proof of a teacher’s union???
duh…..yes!!! I don’t believe anybody here on this site would even try to argue that the teacher “clubs” were a huge issue for him getting booted.
And just becasue they don’t have “union” in their name, doesnt mean they dont act like one. So do you think the GAE, MACE, and PAGE is for social networking. Please……..Thanks for playing try again…….
Outhouse GoKart
February 12th, 2010
9:23 am
“Will today be the day the Baptists get out of jail?”
As per last evening the attorneys for the “Baptists” were negotiating a deal that would return them to the US provided at time of trial the “Baptists” agree they would return to Haiti.
Were I the “baptists” I would agree to anything, get the hell out and NEVER return to Haiti…the land of Hait!
Corey
February 12th, 2010
9:25 am
Denmark, Sweeden, Norway, France etc. all of those socialist conutries outperforming us in educating their children.
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:25 am
It’s Bush’s fault.
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:25 am
It’s Palin’s fault.
Cynical White Boy
February 12th, 2010
9:26 am
No surprises here, in my opinion. This is just one more manifestation in a long line of action = reaction.
A growing number of parents who can afford to scrape together the money simply abandon public schools….throw in utopian federal legislation, artfully named “No Child Left Behind”….and off we go.
No Child Left Behind, like most of Ted Kennedy’s ideas (and those of his bright-eyed staff) sound so good in the abstract. Problem is, Kennedy (nor many of his staffers) ever had any idea what is was like to work for a living, to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling and wonder how to pay bills. When you live off of unlimited trust funds, it’s easy to throw other people’s money around and create all sorts of things to match your view of how the world should be.
Human beings have a funny way of always taking the short cut – when they can. New federal law wants higher test scores? Okay, we’ll give ‘em test scores! Yeah boy.
Peadawg
February 12th, 2010
9:27 am
“Yes, we have the deniers and birthers and flat earthers and such making decisions in our education system in Georgia.
A crying shame.”
We also have Democrats teaching our children…no wonder our education system sucks(hey, you had to go there, didn’t you?),
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:27 am
It’s Sonny’s fault.
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:28 am
Blame Fox News.
Ray
February 12th, 2010
9:28 am
Well, who’s going to win the Super Bowl this weekend?
oops…sorry…was having an Oxendine moment…lmao
cmac
February 12th, 2010
9:29 am
“And as a strong supporter of public education, and as a father of two children who thrived in the Atlanta public schools”
I recon anyone could thrive when the test results were being rigged by the teachers! Like most things inside Atlanta, the schools are a joke.
Cynical White Boy
February 12th, 2010
9:29 am
And, not to mention, Roy Barnes can write a encyclopedia about what happens when you pass any law that tries to force accountability on the ‘educators’.
pat
February 12th, 2010
9:29 am
Well the public schools in my area are excellent. Far better than the private alternatives. So to me this is semantics at a high level with people sand bagging to make themselves look good. The people in the trenches where I am at are awsome.
So I don’t care about this.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:29 am
Call it –
“duh…..yes!!! I don’t believe anybody here on this site would even try to argue that the teacher “clubs” were a huge issue for him getting booted.”
yeah. cuz everything else he did during his tenure was so widely embraced throughout the state (helllooooooo State Flag and challenge to voter ID) … it was the teachers what done him in 51-43 …
Sam
February 12th, 2010
9:29 am
del is clueless…
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:32 am
Blame Global Warming.
Finn McCool
February 12th, 2010
9:34 am
The Senate confirmed 27 high-level Obama nominees Thursday evening just days after President Obama threatened to use recess appoints.
Obi-One-Term is maybe learning how this political game works?
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:37 am
Finneus – 9:34 – it’s about flipping time he realized that you don’t bring a knife to a gun fight …
Matilda
February 12th, 2010
9:37 am
Peadawg, we also have plenty of Republican teachers. You’d know that if you had children in Georgia public schools right now. My guess is that you don’t know or talk to many public school teachers.
I met one at a party near election time ‘08. I asked her about her job sitch, and her feelings. She said her K classroom was overloaded with 20-something 5 and 6 year olds — more than the student/teacher ratio should be for that age. She said at least two of these kids had special needs (autism, etc. which she was unqualified to address), and she was frustrated that she could not give those kids the one-on-one they needed, but could not ignore the other students. Her budget was non-existent, and she had to buy classroom supplies with her own money. She was a single mom with two kids, living on $35K/yr.
I then told her which state-level Democratic candidate I was working for, and his stance on education funding. She said, “OH, WELL I’M A REPUBLICAN, SO I WOULDN’T VOTE FOR HIM.”
Brilliant.
Curious Observer
February 12th, 2010
9:38 am
college isn’t for everyone – we will always need good carpenters, electricians, plumbers and the like – and not everyone is cut out for university. there’s nothing wrong and nothing elitist in that.
Ah, but try to convince even the most uneducated Georgian of that. Most parents want their kids to go to college because we’ve all been taught that a college education is the only path to success. I’ve taught remedial English to first-year college students who’ve earned B averages in high school and qualified for the Hope. I could hardly believe that some of them got past the 9th grade.
And this farce isn’t hurting just the general population and the high schools. Inexorably, it’s dragging down college standards, as you can readily see when you read some of the posts here from people who purport to have college degrees. You see, college administrators want the flow of money to keep coming, too, and they don’t look favorably upon a high percentage of classroom failures, meaning that some students won’t be returning to enroll in more classes.
midtownguy
February 12th, 2010
9:39 am
It really is all about socio-economic status. There is no real “Atlanta” school system. There is one system “North of Ponce” and another system “South of Ponce”. The kids in my neighborhood go to Morningside, Garden Hills and North Atlanta High (the ones who don’t go to private school) and their parents seem quite pleased with the education they are receiving.
A friend of mine who is a realtor taught me that you sort listings in Atlanta by the school district they are in, not by number of bedrooms or bath’s.
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:39 am
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:37 am
I don’t like the concept of recess appointments (Dem or Rep), but since it’s legal I have no problem with Obama using it a leverage. Wouldn’t have been the first time a Prez did it.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:41 am
hi not jimmeh!
yep – not the first … prolly not the last … ya gotta do what ya gotta do … particularly when you have people playing politics with the hold-ups … (”oh noes! she can’t be a judge!! she’s teh ghey!!!”)
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:43 am
Matilda
February 12th, 2010
9:37 am
One thing you conveniently omitted about the single mom with two kids teacher earning $35K. She didn’t seem to be griping about her lot in life.
Normal
February 12th, 2010
9:43 am
If I had to do it over again, I’d forego my Electronics degree and become a Harley mechanic…I’d be rich!
Bosch
February 12th, 2010
9:45 am
Call it Like it Is,
Roy Barnes lost that election because he said he didn’t need the teacher vote. He didn’t get it. There was no vast union conspiracy against it. it was a case of a stupid politician saying a stupid thing. Hell, the other Bosch voted for Sonny because of that – and that’s saying something.
Jenifer
February 12th, 2010
9:45 am
Christian “Science” Teacher Taught Intelligent Design & Burned Cross Onto Student – Case Heats Up
Some people call themselves Christian, but act like religious fascists. Mount Vernon, OH – I will not be visiting.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/11/836312/-Xtian-Science-Teacher-Taught-IDBurned-Cross-onto-StudentCase-Heats-Up
TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
9:46 am
We also have Democrats teaching our children…no wonder our education system sucks(hey, you had to go there, didn’t you?),
You clearly have not set foot in any of our county schools. They could not get any farther right without introducing a pledge of allegiance to a Republican du jour every morning.
Bosch
February 12th, 2010
9:47 am
Peadawg,
I don’t know where you live, but in my county, the Bible Thumper teachers (not Democrats) far outnumber the “liberal” teachers by about 30:1.
Brad Steel
February 12th, 2010
9:47 am
UK and Finn,
thanks for your retarded corrections.
so, with new construction gone, only 1/2 of their work is gone. yeah, that’s nothing. the electricians and plumbers can come work at my house in which i haven’t needed either in the past ten years. or they can come install another light fixture and a toilet in my living room. the light fixture installation business and toilet install business are booming!
UK, does the word ‘pedantic’ mean anything to you?
Outhouse GoKart
February 12th, 2010
9:48 am
“One thing you conveniently omitted about the single mom with two kids teacher earning $35K.”
And she made the decision.
jconservative
February 12th, 2010
9:48 am
My thought would be if an analysis showed a percentage of answers being changed from wrong to right, what is the percentage of answers being changed from right to wrong? Has that been established? In the normal course of testing I would think that both changes would be about equal. Any variation from an established percentage would be grounds for strong suspicion of wrong doing.
Not to brag, but in high school & college I was a standardized test whiz. My scores were way beyond my grades. And there was a “rule” that one should never change an answer on a standardized test. Statistically the first answer is the correct answer.
TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
9:48 am
I see Jimmy’s effigy is back to his blame game again.
Jenifer
February 12th, 2010
9:48 am
RUN, SARAH, RUN!
Haywood Jablome
February 12th, 2010
9:49 am
Cheating scandal….
Awwww (let down). I was hoping Jay had a link to the Edward’s video.
HDB
February 12th, 2010
9:50 am
There are several problems here:
1) Teachers are teaching to pass the test, not to increase knowledge! Back in the day, we were learning to expand our possibilities…and prepare for either the workforce, college, or vocational schools. That path has been stymied because teachers are being forced to teach students to pass a test to statistically measure progress. Some kids are NOT good test takers!!
2) NCLB was an unfunded mandate by the Bush Administration on education….and the local and state governments were forced to increase taxes to cover the mandate……
3) Parental involvement is DECREASING….that needs to change!!
4) Summer school funding needs to increase….in fact schools need to be in session ALL YEAR ROUND vs. 180 days!! Educational systems in Europe and Asia are all-year factions; how can American students keep up with foreign competition going HALF THE TIME???
Matilda
February 12th, 2010
9:50 am
JC wannabe, actually, I didn’t presume to know whether she was happy with her life or not. I asked about her feelings about her JOB. In ten minutes, she expressed nothing but frustration about the funding of her school and the expectations put on her by the system, and the inability to get more personnel in there for those children. She didn’t seem to mind digging into her own pocket even though she said she hasn’t much in there to dig out. That the special-needs children were not getting what they needed seemed to pain her the most. I can’t imagine raising kids on that salary where I live, but she is in a smaller, rural town, so maybe that’s a lot of money there.
TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
9:51 am
Palin and Edwards should get together for a collaboration. Write a bi-partisan book. “Sarah’s John” would be a catchy title.
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:52 am
TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
9:48 am
Thought I’d save you and many libs the time.
JDW
February 12th, 2010
9:54 am
Indeed Run Sarah Run, start in Anchorage and run west until you hit Siberia. Then stay.
Jenifer
February 12th, 2010
9:54 am
HDB, 9:50,
Yes!
JDW
February 12th, 2010
9:54 am
USinUK, heck around here Zell Miller is a liberal!
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:54 am
Brad –
“thanks for your retarded corrections”
awww … you just made Sarah Palin cry …
“UK, does the word ‘pedantic’ mean anything to you?”
you say pedantic – I say realist. plumbers / electricians / carpenters retire, quit and move on to do something else. We need to have well-trained people take their places. and, like I said, we will ALWAYS need these jobs, so investing in vocational education now will make sure we have well-trained people in the future.
you want to be against that, then that’s fine. but to say that we shouldn’t invest in the future because of a temporary economic condition is short-sighted.
TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
9:54 am
Thought I’d save you and many libs the time
I’m sure that was your motivation.
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:54 am
Matilda
February 12th, 2010
9:50 am
But you closed your original post with a sarcastic “brilliant”. I guess if she had confided in you that she was going to vote straight ticket Democrat you would have been good with it. Geez, concentrate on your own life and let others live theirs.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
9:55 am
JDW – “USinUK, heck around here Zell Miller is an a-hole”
there. fixed your type-o.
Jimmy Carter
February 12th, 2010
9:56 am
faux TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
9:54 am
Many of you libs seem to like the concept of others doing things for you (govt controlled everything) so I thought you’d appreciate my gesture.
Matilda
February 12th, 2010
9:57 am
JC, I certainly wasn’t talking about YOU! Haha… Fact: The Repubs controlling this state in the last several years have slashed the education budget significantly. I was working for a candidate that was dead set on fighting to put that money back. She was not interested in anyone with a D by his name, expressing insteaad her loyalty to the Rs that cut the education budget. I have my perceptions of that, you have yours, and I don’t care.
Jenifer
February 12th, 2010
9:59 am
It’s A Trap! Stewart Mocks GOP’s Reluctance To Join Health Care Summit
“A paper bag is only a trap if you don’t know how to punch your way out of it” .. well, I guess we can give the GOP credit for realizing it has nothing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/12/its-a-trap-stewart-mocks_n_459766.html
TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
10:05 am
Many of you libs seem to like the concept of others doing things for you (govt controlled everything) so I thought you’d appreciate my gesture.
I’m sure you even have a peer-reviewed scientific study that you can pull out to support your crap.
md
February 12th, 2010
10:05 am
Pretty simple concept – when money is involved, one will usually find cheating (or lower standards).
All one has to do is look at congress.
Finn McCool
February 12th, 2010
10:06 am
Brad,
What’s retarded is thinking new house construcion accounts for 50% or more of construction employment.
How many mechanics are employed building cars and how many are employed fixing cars?
See what i mean, sherlock?
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
10:07 am
““that they have no responsibility that is too small for the government to handle for them, see any recent speech from our current president” ”
gosh … has anyone seen whiner???
I asked him to provide quotes and links to back up his claim … and he seemed to fall off the face of the planet …
could it be that he made an assertion with absolutely NO basis in reality???
naaaahhhhhhh
Outhouse GoKart
February 12th, 2010
10:08 am
The Hairclub for Men VP strikes again…
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/11/republicans-object-biden-taking-credit-success-iraq/?test=latestnews
Williebkind
February 12th, 2010
10:08 am
Call me old fashion but in all these blogs I have not heard one state that the children are molded to learn. They go to school because they have to. Some opt out for the GED. Let them fail! We need ditch diggers, tomatoe pickers, landscapers, brick carriers, carpenter helpers, harvesters, street cleaners, hotel cleaners, and many other jobs that will pay minimum wages or a little above it. Our best and brightest are being dragged down by the democratic plantation pool who EXPECTS government assistance throughout their lives.
Stop paying teachers by their degrees and start paying them by their performances. After the plantation pool completes their free college education, it will be a requirement to have a ba degree to become a cashier or bagger. Today, education is not about learning but simply having the paper hanging on the wall. We need to start looking at the results of our education system before we can fix the lower end. How good are college grads? Not very! Only those who took strict disciplines can perform good enough to be trained by the employer.
The only education I have seen coming out of colleges is indoctrination into the progressive ideology and that results in citizens hating their country enough to look at the constitution as something that can be changed to suit the whims of contemporary times.
Yes it is a sad time but in November we get another chance!
ken
February 12th, 2010
10:08 am
This is why I pay the extra bucks and send my Grandson to a private school. No union.
Jenifer
February 12th, 2010
10:09 am
USinUK, 10:07,
He’s gone to get some and he’ll bring them to ya.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
10:10 am
Jenifer … 10:09 … I’ll just hold my breath, then … I’m sure he’ll be riiiiiiight back (especially since Obama ALWAYS talks about how people don’t bear any responsibility about anything … that it’s all the gummint’s responsibility now)
Brad Steel
February 12th, 2010
10:11 am
UK,
The vocational schools or trade union appreciate programs have there place, but they should not be confused with a policy strategy for educating our children and young adults for the economic opportunities of the 21st century. And the best opportunities will require a demanding education. For pounding nails, slapping on hot-tar, tin-knocking and their kin, we will continue to hire the low-costs immigrant work force from poor countries. But go ahead a promote bailing-out option if you like.
In the inimitable words of Ross Perot: “we’re talking computer chips, not potato chips.
USinUK
February 12th, 2010
10:11 am
ken – 10:08 – please see Jay’s 9:08.
TaxPayer
February 12th, 2010
10:13 am
could it be that he made an assertion with absolutely NO basis in reality???
Clear plastic trash bags covering computers are my friend. They shore AmSpecial.