Blogs:

Schools and colleges across the nation are facing investigations. These investigations are conducted to check whether or not the kids in these educational institutions are able to grasp well and score well.

However, a school in Atlanta felt much vindicated at the beginning of this week. This is because the investigation results showed that the school had indulged in cheating for the standardised tests.

The investigators found various irregularities. Plus this inquiry was not limited to a particular school only but to 58 schools from a total of 84 elementary and middle schools in Atlanta. In the month of February when report was released, there were a lot of protests from parents and teachers because this type of cheating was carried out. And this could not have been done at the teachers’ level and therefore, this was a part of the higher administration authorities.

However, there is a twist in the story. A private investigation firm that looked into the matter sort out no evidence that indicated that such cheating on standardised tests have any  root in a conspiracy amongst schools therefore, this manipulation is not a district planned thing.

However, superintendent and the chairwoman of the education department stated that any kind of cheating will not be accepted and strict measures will be taken. The situation is such that Ms. Burks, the chairwoman, has now apologised.

The investigator found that many school kids had erased their answers many times before they could write down the right ones. Plus about 12 schools had wrong statistical information. Thirteen schools were known to show further irregularities for classroom studies across grades. Therefore, these had a school wide issue.

The problems therefore, lie amongst the educators too. The problem made up for one or two percent of the educators in these schools. About 109 teachers were held up for this.

A spokesperson stated that such problems took place when the teachers and the students found it difficult to adjust with the new standardised tests. Everyone wants their class to score well. This is because a teacher’s calibre is calculated on the basis of how the students score in their classes. Even if they are good and have put in their best, if the students happen to score poorly, it shows the teacher in bad light.

Is there any solution for this kind of cheating? Surely, termination is not the answer. This is because it will set a fear amongst the other teaching staff members and this will not be limited to just one school. It will happen across all schools.

Teachers will find it really difficult to stay away from cheating on the test scores just because they want to keep their jobs. Students on the other hand will continue to suffer.

This is because throwing out teachers would mean searching for new ones and then they have to get used to the new teachers. What if the new ones are equally bad? There is no guarantee.