State standardized tests
Page created July 2010; last updated Dec 3, 2011
Much of the Gulen charter schools' reputation for academic success has arisen from their higher-than-expected performance on state standardized tests. In view of this, it is important to consider how reliable such tests are. The list of news articles given below demonstrates that tampering with state tests is widespread and not difficult to get away with. See also this accompanying page on allegations of test irregularities that have surfaced in connection with several Gulen charter schools.
One of the most insidious aspects of test cheating is that there is almost no incentive for anyone to speak up about it. Whistleblower teachers run a serious risk of ruining their careers; there are scant legal protections for them. Government officials benefit from being able to show "improvement" in schools under their leadership, and even when results are too good to be true, they usually would rather not look too deep. Parents, who are often stressed and busy with their jobs, tend to be happy at any sign their child's school is doing well and would just as soon leave it at that. Community members are pleased over the enhancement of their area's reputation, and the increase in property values that comes with it.
While in the past, cheating was often expected to result from individual teachers rather than a school administration, the Atlanta scandal shows that it can be a systemic problem emanating from school or district leadership, and that it can take years to uncover.
New York Times, September 8, 2011
"Steps Urged to Cut Cheating in Test Grading" by Sharon Otterman
Citing heightened concerns about educators’ cheating that have emerged after recent scandals in Atlanta and Philadelphia, a New York State panel has recommended an overhaul in how the state administers and grades its standardized tests.
New York Daily News, August 22, 2011
"Claims that city teachers and administrators cheating on standardized tests triple" by Rachel Monahan
"Allegations of teachers and school administrators cheating have more than tripled since 2003, city data show As the Bloomberg administration has raised the stakes on standardized tests, the reports of test tampering and grade changing have increased to 225 last year from just 68 in 2003."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 13, 2011
"Atlanta’s testing scandal adds fuel to U.S. debate" by Jaime Sarrio
"Atlanta’s school cheating scandal, one of the largest in U.S. history, has launched a national discussion about whether the increased use of high-stakes tests to rate educators will trigger similar episodes in the years ahead. Pressure to meet testing targets was a major reason cheating took place in 44 Atlanta schools involving 178 educators, according to a state investigation released last week."
USA Today, July 13, 2011
"Pa. looking into possible cheating on state tests"
"The Pennsylvania Department of Education is looking into a report that has surfaced highlighting possible cheating on state standardized tests in at least 35 districts and noting aberrant scores in dozens of others, a spokesman said Tuesday. The forensic analysis of the 2009 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment results does not assert cheating occurred, but says certain answer patterns and erasures make the results suspicious."
New York Times, July 5, 2011
"Systematic Cheating Is Found in Atlanta’s School System" by Kim Severson
"A state investigation released Tuesday showed rampant, systematic cheating on test scores in this city’s long-troubled public schools, ending two years of increasing skepticism over remarkable improvements touted by school leaders. ... A culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation existed in the district, which led to a conspiracy of silence, he [Governor Nathan Deal] said in a prepared statement."
USA Today, March 17, 2011
"When test scores seem too good to believe" by Greg Toppo, Denise Amos, Jack Gillum and Jodi Upton
"Seipelt's gains and losses are typical of a pattern uncovered by a USA TODAY investigation of the standardized tests of millions of students in six states and the District of Columbia. The newspaper identified 1,610 examples of anomalies in which public school classes — a school's entire fifth grade, for example — boasted what analysts regard as statistically rare, perhaps suspect, gains on state tests. ... Such anomalies surfaced in Washington, D.C., and each of the states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Ohio — where USA TODAY analyzed test scores. For each state, the newspaper obtained three to seven years' worth of scores. There were another 317 examples of equally large, year-to-year declines in an entire grade's scores. "
El Paso Times, June 26, 2010
Cheating alleged: Austin High School pulled scam, says Sen. Eliot Shapleigh
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 18, 2010
100 Atlanta school employees implicated in test cheating scandal
New York Times, June 10, 2010
Under Pressure, Teachers Tamper With Tests
Baltimore Sun, May 28, 2010
Parents feel cheated by test tampering
The Virginian-Pilot, May 7, 2010
Va. has teeth but rarely bites schools suspected of cheating
New York Times, Feb 12, 2010
Experts Say Schools Need to Screen for Cheating
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb 11, 2010
Suspicious test scores widespread in state
One in five Georgia public schools faces accusations of tampering with student answers on last spring’s state standardized tests, officials said Wednesday..."
Boston Globe, Jan 23, 2010
Charter school cheating detailed: Staff tell state of MCAS infractions
New York Sun, June 30, 2008
High Test Scores, and Criticism, Follow a South Bronx Principal
Dallas Morning News, Sep 12, 2007
FW charter school that cheated on tests will remain open
Dallas Morning News, June 4, 2007
Cheating's off the charts at charter schools: Loosely regulated schools among state's worst offenders on TAKS
CBS News Oct 28, 2003
Teachers Caught Cheating: Some Critics Blame Pressure Of Standardized Testing
Much of the Gulen charter schools' reputation for academic success has arisen from their higher-than-expected performance on state standardized tests. In view of this, it is important to consider how reliable such tests are. The list of news articles given below demonstrates that tampering with state tests is widespread and not difficult to get away with. See also this accompanying page on allegations of test irregularities that have surfaced in connection with several Gulen charter schools.
One of the most insidious aspects of test cheating is that there is almost no incentive for anyone to speak up about it. Whistleblower teachers run a serious risk of ruining their careers; there are scant legal protections for them. Government officials benefit from being able to show "improvement" in schools under their leadership, and even when results are too good to be true, they usually would rather not look too deep. Parents, who are often stressed and busy with their jobs, tend to be happy at any sign their child's school is doing well and would just as soon leave it at that. Community members are pleased over the enhancement of their area's reputation, and the increase in property values that comes with it.
While in the past, cheating was often expected to result from individual teachers rather than a school administration, the Atlanta scandal shows that it can be a systemic problem emanating from school or district leadership, and that it can take years to uncover.
New York Times, September 8, 2011
"Steps Urged to Cut Cheating in Test Grading" by Sharon Otterman
Citing heightened concerns about educators’ cheating that have emerged after recent scandals in Atlanta and Philadelphia, a New York State panel has recommended an overhaul in how the state administers and grades its standardized tests.
New York Daily News, August 22, 2011
"Claims that city teachers and administrators cheating on standardized tests triple" by Rachel Monahan
"Allegations of teachers and school administrators cheating have more than tripled since 2003, city data show As the Bloomberg administration has raised the stakes on standardized tests, the reports of test tampering and grade changing have increased to 225 last year from just 68 in 2003."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 13, 2011
"Atlanta’s testing scandal adds fuel to U.S. debate" by Jaime Sarrio
"Atlanta’s school cheating scandal, one of the largest in U.S. history, has launched a national discussion about whether the increased use of high-stakes tests to rate educators will trigger similar episodes in the years ahead. Pressure to meet testing targets was a major reason cheating took place in 44 Atlanta schools involving 178 educators, according to a state investigation released last week."
USA Today, July 13, 2011
"Pa. looking into possible cheating on state tests"
"The Pennsylvania Department of Education is looking into a report that has surfaced highlighting possible cheating on state standardized tests in at least 35 districts and noting aberrant scores in dozens of others, a spokesman said Tuesday. The forensic analysis of the 2009 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment results does not assert cheating occurred, but says certain answer patterns and erasures make the results suspicious."
New York Times, July 5, 2011
"Systematic Cheating Is Found in Atlanta’s School System" by Kim Severson
"A state investigation released Tuesday showed rampant, systematic cheating on test scores in this city’s long-troubled public schools, ending two years of increasing skepticism over remarkable improvements touted by school leaders. ... A culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation existed in the district, which led to a conspiracy of silence, he [Governor Nathan Deal] said in a prepared statement."
USA Today, March 17, 2011
"When test scores seem too good to believe" by Greg Toppo, Denise Amos, Jack Gillum and Jodi Upton
"Seipelt's gains and losses are typical of a pattern uncovered by a USA TODAY investigation of the standardized tests of millions of students in six states and the District of Columbia. The newspaper identified 1,610 examples of anomalies in which public school classes — a school's entire fifth grade, for example — boasted what analysts regard as statistically rare, perhaps suspect, gains on state tests. ... Such anomalies surfaced in Washington, D.C., and each of the states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Ohio — where USA TODAY analyzed test scores. For each state, the newspaper obtained three to seven years' worth of scores. There were another 317 examples of equally large, year-to-year declines in an entire grade's scores. "
El Paso Times, June 26, 2010
Cheating alleged: Austin High School pulled scam, says Sen. Eliot Shapleigh
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 18, 2010
100 Atlanta school employees implicated in test cheating scandal
New York Times, June 10, 2010
Under Pressure, Teachers Tamper With Tests
Baltimore Sun, May 28, 2010
Parents feel cheated by test tampering
The Virginian-Pilot, May 7, 2010
Va. has teeth but rarely bites schools suspected of cheating
New York Times, Feb 12, 2010
Experts Say Schools Need to Screen for Cheating
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb 11, 2010
Suspicious test scores widespread in state
One in five Georgia public schools faces accusations of tampering with student answers on last spring’s state standardized tests, officials said Wednesday..."
Boston Globe, Jan 23, 2010
Charter school cheating detailed: Staff tell state of MCAS infractions
New York Sun, June 30, 2008
High Test Scores, and Criticism, Follow a South Bronx Principal
Dallas Morning News, Sep 12, 2007
FW charter school that cheated on tests will remain open
Dallas Morning News, June 4, 2007
Cheating's off the charts at charter schools: Loosely regulated schools among state's worst offenders on TAKS
CBS News Oct 28, 2003
Teachers Caught Cheating: Some Critics Blame Pressure Of Standardized Testing
