A former school superintendent has been indicted for "tampering with government records" in an investigation of misdeeds that include cheating on standardized tests:
The indictment of Charles Matthews on a single count of tampering with government records was announced Tuesday by the Dallas County district attorney's office. On Monday, the Texas education commissioner decided to take full control of the school district after a report that confirmed extensive cheating on the state's standardized tests...Cedric Davis, former chief of the district's police force, appealed for fairness in the ongoing investigations of the school district's woes. Davis, who is credited as a whistle-blower in the case, asserted that wrongdoings were probably committed "from top to bottom." He noted that clerks reportedly participated in the alleged tampering of attendance records and teachers reportedly fudged test scores...
Matthews was also indicted in October for allegedly destroying records sought by investigators who are investigating the school district's finances. Matthews was subsequently fired.
These preliminary report findings are just stunning:
According to a preliminary state report, two-thirds of educators involved in giving the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills last year were involved in "testing irregularities," The Associated Press reported.Investigators found that some students who finished the test early were told to correct answers on other students' answer sheets and some educators prepared answer keys for students. In some classrooms, students were told to raise their hands so their answers could be checked before they moved to the next question.
Every time educators participate in cheating like this, several myths come to seem more like fact:
1. Educators cannot handle pressure
2. Students cannot be expected to learn basic skills and take tests on them.
3. All testing is flawed because educators are willing to cheat.
I don't know about you, but those are three myths that I'd love to see shot down. Events like the recent ones in Texas aren't helping with that.
Posted by kswygert at March 23, 2005 11:19 AM