A part of me hates the notion of teachers cheating in order to improve test scores. I've seen the "soft" cheating, including using packets, answering "clarifying" questions for students and asking students, "Is this really what you meant?" when collecting tests. But I've also seen "hard" cheating, including teachers who changed bubbles or reviewed the test ahead of time with kids. I'm not sure how prevalent cheating is. However, it bothers me, because I feel like it cheapens my students' test scores. But it also hurts those who aren't cheating. It's part of why my data looked awful in the third quarter. But I also hate the way it leaves a teacher vulnerable when his or her scores are high. Moreover, it cheapens the entire profession and makes every one of us look bad. So, there is this part of me that feels enraged at cheating and the lack of professionalism involved. And yet this is exactly what I expect. I blame the teachers only to a certain extent. But I blame the system even more. Currently, our teacher evaluations and our school labels are both based upon test scores. Students are placed in intervention based upon scores. We can talk all we want about empathy, compassion, collaboration and trust. However, if the policies in place pit teachers against each other in a battle for one's job, are we surprised that teachers cheat, lie and keep information to themselves. It's like asking for Hunger Games participants to share bread and play nice. Think of any other high-stakes, extrinsic reward, merit-based environment and you'll find cheating. Look at Wall Street, big banks and professional sports. Each of these institutions, run entirely upon economic norms, ended up with huge cheating scandals. We can blame the individuals for their lack of morality. But here's the thing: in the midst of fear, when a job is on the line, cheating is tempting. It comes down to this. Is school supposed to be governed by social norms or economic norms? If social, then school should be like a family and we should expect learning to be a natural, social phenomenon with the permission to fail. If economic, we should expect a consumer mentality with merit rewards and micromanagement. However, if we put these systems in place, don’t be shocked when there is a lack of empathy, a failure in ethics and rampant cheating. That’s the byproduct of a consumer mentality. Cheating is simply getting the best bang for your buck in a moral vacuum. I realize that there are corporations that act ethically. However, they are also the ones that value people, that move outside of high-stakes "accountability" and that think long-term. Go ahead and get morally outraged when teachers cheat. But make sure you get equally outraged at a system that encourages cheating. photo credit:
Fort Worth Squatch via
photopin cc
