![]() The correct and inevitable guilty verdict in the sad case of the “Atlanta Cheating Scandal” is a reminder that the current system of high-stakes testing drives all participants in schooling to their wits’ ends—and beyond. Surely parents want the best for their children, teachers want the best for their students, administrators want the best for their schools, superintendents want the best for their districts. But when it all boils down to a few numbers, and the numbers can, carefully, surreptitiously, and illegally, be changed, it should not surprise us that the temptation to do so becomes irresistible, in some cases. [image source: http://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumb300/20110801/Cheating-Test-1956141.jpg] If this system of widespread and coordinated cheating has a positive outcome, it is to cast a bright light on the desperation of people trying to survive a system that punishes rather than supports struggling.
Since the cheating allegations were made public in 2009, a wider conversation about the nature of testing has increased, and the goals of schooling are as unclear as ever. Everyone wants children to learn, and everyone wants disadvantaged children to learn just as much as children with all the advantages in the world. But the bottom line is this: schools are an institution that serves the entire population, and the social inequities are visible there. And the people charged with enacting educational activities cannot compensate for broader inequalities. So, to protect their domain, they cheated. But what is the educational system in general, and the economic system to which it is attached, doing? You might say much of that is also cheating.
2 Comments
3/5/2022 09:06:45 am
nks for sharing the article, and more importantly, your personal experience mindfully using our emotions as data about our inner state and knhjbowing when it’s better to de-escalate by taking a time out are great toolkjl kjks. Appreciate you rea hkhjkding and sharing your story since I can certainly relate and I think others can to
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10/14/2022 09:20:50 am
Cheating is a form of dishonesty. It can happen in a variety of ways, from simple lying to elaborate fraud. Cheating on a test or exam is one kind of cheating. It is also called academic dishonesty or grade tampering.Cheating can be hard to detect because there are no physical signs that someone is cheating. Even if you see something suspicious, it may not be right away clear that it's cheating.
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