Thoughts on Cheating
Don’t tell teachers, “whatever it takes,” and then act surprised when they follow that advice to its logical extreme. Don’t tell the principal, “you’ll lose your job and we’ll shut down the school if it doesn’t make AYP,” and then act surprised when the leadership finds ways to cheat.
When politicians set ultimatums like job security, institutional safety and student retention on kill-and-drill tests, cheating will occur. True, the teachers in Atlanta were unethical. In many cases, their students would have performed well on the tests if the teachers had ignored the pizza parties and pies in the face and simply taught with critical thinking and creativity. However, a constructivist approach feels very risky when job security is on the line and the entire school culture is pushing teach-to-the-test packets.
Unless students attend Hogwarts, people can’t expect magical results. Poverty matters. Learning disabilities matter. Language acquisition matters. Yet, if magic is what’s required, teachers will find ways to become