The Real Cheating Scandal of Standardized Tests
Opinion: The widening circle of cheating scandals on standardized tests should fuel the movement to reduce the stakes these exams have on public education in the U.S.
As cheating scandals pop up at schools across the nation, law professor Kimberly West-Faulcon addresses the elephant in the room: Are schools moving in the wrong direction by focusing so much energy on standardized tests? (Istockphoto)
As the list of states and cities plagued by allegations of cheating on standardized tests grows fromWashington, Baltimore and Atlantato include Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Obama administration’s call for enhanced “test security” is ringing hollow. Instead of a shocking anomaly, it seems that the egregious test cheating uncovered in Atlanta public schools earlier this month may be more common than we as a nation want to believe.
The truth is that the greater the
