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Monday, July 25, 2011

Questions about cheating could hinder efforts to improve schools - The Washington Post

Questions about cheating could hinder efforts to improve schools - The Washington Post

Questions about cheating could hinder efforts to improve schools

By the numbers, it’s a paltry handful. Of more than 100,000 public schools in the United States, about 300 recently have faced suspicions, allegations and, in some cases hard proof, that teachers and administrators cheated to inflate standardized test scores.

But the impact of revelations in Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington and other cities extends beyond those modest numbers. Questions raised in these incidents have sent tremors through the movement to hold schools and teachers accountable for student