Pointing the Finger in the Rise of NY Cheating

As a potential educator in the process of looking for a new job in the education field, how do you view the ever increasing reports of grade tampering and cheating on standardized tests, or the pressure that some teachers state they are under to show results in their students?

Cheating and grade tampering investigations have been actively investigated in many states, and in the state of New York, fingers may be getting pointing in the direction of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. A special commissioner investigation shows that during the time since he took the leadership position of the school system, the amount of accusations regarding test tampering has more than trippled, along with an increase in the complaints of adult misconduct in the system.

Richard J. Condon is the commissioner, and he feels there are many factors that play a part in this issue. Since 2002, the school's budget has gone from $11.5 billion to now more than double that, being $24 billion. The actual number of schools has also grown, from 1,200 to 1,700 in that same period. Add those to the fact that standardized tests and classroom grades have become a bigger push, being attached to added bonuses, tougher teacher evaluations, and overall school progress reports, the situation becomes very combustible.

Condon states, "When you start giving money to the schools to do well, that’s another incentive to appear to do well even if you are not doing well. If a lot of the evaluation is based on how the students do, that’s an incentive for the teachers to try to help the students do well, even in ways that are unacceptable.”

School chancellor Dennis M. Walcott disagrees, stating Mr. Condon has only proved a few cases of cheating each year, and that the increase in allegations stems more from the fact that there are increased whistle-blower protections, as well as it being much easier to send a complaint anonymously through email and other means. With it being much easier to send in an allegation, people are sending more of them. Walcott says, “People are reporting things, that’s fine; we want people to report things. People could be reporting for real and not necessarily real reasons.” Walcott's chief academic officer Shael Polakow-Suransky adds, "When there is conflict that exists in a school — sometimes between teachers, sometimes between teachers and administration — it is not unusual that there are reports and allegations made as a result of that."

With all of the allegations of cheating that were reported, it seems very few have led to any actual case of tampering. Erasure analysis is one of the main techniques used to identify cheating on standardized tests. Walcott states "I have not seen one iota of fact about system wide cheating in New York City — this is not Atlanta at all. Unless someone is able to say to me that they have discovered system wide cheating on the part of New York City, I will not accept the premise that erasure analysis is necessary." While these erasure scanning methods can provide a cost-effective way to find real evidence, it still costs, to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars a year.



How does all of this news and investigations in the education system make you feel? Leave your comments below.



Jeff McCormack resides in Virginia Beach, VA. where he works as a web designer by day. In his off time he is a husband, father, mail order book store manager, and musician. Aside from being a freelance writer for this Education Jobsite blog, he also seeks to assist in career choices and information by contributing to other Nexxt blog sites.