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0|0|0|||||NCLB%3A Probe of high-stakes tests is latest cheating case|alexb||12:32:05|02/04/2005|%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%0D%0A From the Christian Science Monitor%2C Tuesday%2C January 11%2C 2005. See%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.csmonitor.com%2F2005%2F0111%2Fp01s03-ussc.html%0D%0A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%0D%0AWhen tests%27 cheaters are the teachers%0D%0A%0D%0AProbe of Texas scores on high-stakes tests is the latest case in %0D%0Aseries of cheating incidents.%0D%0A%0D%0ABy Kris Axtman%0D%0A%0D%0AHOUSTON - The %22Texas Miracle%22 that helped launch the nationwide %0D%0Aaccountability movement in education is facing new doubts as %0D%0Aallegations surface about possible cheating on test scores. Last week %0D%0Athe Houston Independent School District %28HISD%29 - one of the nation%27s %0D%0Alargest - announced an investigation of %22suspicious%22 results on 2004 %0D%0Astatewide tests.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe wrangling is being closely watched by districts across the %0D%0Acountry that are bound by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of %0D%0A2002%2C which was modeled in part after the success of Houston schools.%0D%0A%0D%0ACritics say the possible cheating scandal%2C and the idea of educators %0D%0Awilling to go to such lengths to raise their schools%27 scores%2C is %0D%0Afurther proof that high-stakes testing doesn%27t work. Supporters say %0D%0Athe instances of cheating on such tests are very rare and can be %0D%0Afound in every profession.%0D%0A%0D%0AWhatever the reality%2C cheating on standardized tests has been making %0D%0Athe news with increasing frequency. From Boston to Florida to %0D%0ACalifornia%2C school districts have been investigating claims that %0D%0Aeducators are providing students with answers%2C changing answers after %0D%0Athe test is over%2C and giving students extra time.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22The No Child Left Behind Act%2C which has some very solid goals%2C when %0D%0Aimplemented creates an awful lot of trouble in the schools%2C%22 says %0D%0AJohn Fremer%2C a testing expert with 40 years of experience. While he %0D%0Asays cheating has been around for as long as there have been tests%2C %0D%0Athe difference in the past few years is that teachers and %0D%0Aadministrators are heavily involved%2C %22something that%27s so alien to %0D%0Athe concept of teaching.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ASome recent examples%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A%2A Earlier this month%2C an Indiana third-grade teacher was suspended %0D%0Aafter being accused of tapping students on the shoulder when they %0D%0Amarked wrong answers - the state%27s third alleged incident in as many %0D%0Ayears.%0D%0A%0D%0A%2A In September%2C Mississippi threw out portions of test scores at nine %0D%0Aschools after discovering more than two dozen cases of alleged %0D%0Acheating. One fifth-grade teacher was fired after allegedly helping %0D%0Astudents on the writing portion of the test.%0D%0A%0D%0A%2A And in July%2C nine Arizona school districts invalidated portions of %0D%0Atheir test scores after teachers allegedly either read sections of %0D%0Athe test to students or gave students extra time to finish. It was %0D%0Athe state%27s 21st case of cheating since 2002.%0D%0A%0D%0ASuch troubles%2C though often isolated incidents%2C are leading school %0D%0Adistricts to take action.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn Ohio%2C teachers are required to sign a code of ethics and are %0D%0Awarned that if they are caught cheating%2C their licenses may be %0D%0Arevoked. Kentucky uses six different versions of the exam in one %0D%0Aclassroom to cut down on teachers %22teaching to the test.%22 In Mesa%2C %0D%0AAriz.%2C the school district hires retired principals to wander among %0D%0Aclassrooms%2C monitoring the tests. And in South Carolina and four %0D%0Aother states%2C Dr. Fremer%27s test-security firm has been brought in to %0D%0Aanalyze student answer sheets for patterns of cheating.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe problem%2C say many education experts%2C is that the tests have been %0D%0Atied to teachers%27 job contacts and bonuses.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Once the outcome of these tests started to matter%2C was it any %0D%0Asurprise that teachers began to cheat%3F%22 asks Steven Levitt%2C an %0D%0Aeconomics professor at the University of Chicago. %22And I think the %0D%0Aother side is that the risk reward looks fairly good. The chances of %0D%0Abeing caught are tiny.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ADr. Levitt analyzed data from Chicago public schools and estimates %0D%0Athat serious cases of teacher or principal cheating occur in about 5 %0D%0Apercent of elementary school classrooms. He and a colleague from %0D%0AHarvard University created an algorithm for detecting teacher %0D%0Acheating that combines information on unexpected test-score %0D%0Afluctuations and suspicious patterns of student answers. The Chicago %0D%0ASchool District now uses it every year to monitor cheating.%0D%0A%0D%0AExperts agree that some of what is dubbed cheating may boil down to %0D%0Aconfusion over the rules or blurring of ethical line - such as %0D%0Ateachers%27 use of extremely similar practice exams or leaving study %0D%0Aaids on the wall during testing.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd while there may be a few deliberate cheaters%2C overall the testing %0D%0Asystem is working very well%2C says Jay Greene%2C a senior fellow at the %0D%0AManhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York. %22I liken it to %0D%0Athe income-tax system. Everyone knows someone who has cheated on %0D%0Atheir income taxes%2C but overall the system works pretty much as %0D%0Adesigned%2C%22 he says.%0D%0A%0D%0ADr. Greene says the high-stakes tests are doing what they%27re supposed %0D%0Ato do%3A making sure kids learn the material. But other experts say %0D%0Aeven that is compromised by teachers narrowing their curriculum to %0D%0Awhat they know will be on tests.%0D%0A%0D%0AIf an exam asks who the 18th president of the United States was%2C for %0D%0Ainstance%2C the idea is that the child should know who all the %0D%0Apresidents were%2C not just the 18th.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Cheating is not the most fundamental problem. It%27s the canary in the %0D%0Acoal mine%2C%22 says Daniel Koretz%2C who teaches educational measurement %0D%0Aat Harvard University. The coal mine%2C he says%2C is the %22dumbing down%22 %0D%0Aof education to get the desired results.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22I think we are in desperate need of accountability in schools%2C and %0D%0Atests have to be a part of that%2C%22 he says. %22But it%27s a mistake to do %0D%0Ait this way%2C to set arbitrary targets and expect schools to meet %0D%0Athem.%22 Under the No Child Left Behind Act%2C states have 12 years to %0D%0Abring children up to academic proficiency or lose federal funding.%0D%0A%0D%0ABack in Houston%2C the cheating scandal was uncovered by a Dallas %0D%0AMorning News analysis%2C which found surprising gaps in almost 400 of %0D%0A7%2C700 Texas public schools - instances of students earning some of %0D%0Athe state%27s lowest scores in reading%2C but its highest in math%2C for %0D%0Ainstance%2C or classes that ranked in the state%27s top 10 percent in %0D%0Areading one year%2C only to sink to the bottom 10 percent in the next.%0D%0A%0D%0AThat%27s what happened at Wesley Elementary%2C a Houston school that%2C %0D%0Aironically%2C had been featured on %22The Oprah Winfrey Show%22 and cited %0D%0Aby President Bush for its turnaround in the 1990s.%0D%0A%0D%0AHISD has acted quickly%2C creating an Office of Inspector General to %0D%0Alook into the allegations. %22We must administer a testing process with %0D%0Atotal integrity%2C%22 said Superintendent Abe Saavedra at a news %0D%0Aconference last week. %22And on those few occasions when someone %0D%0Adecides to violate the rules%2C HISD will take swift and decisive %0D%0Aaction to stop it.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ABut cheating won%27t stop until the high-stakes testing system is %0D%0Athrown out%2C says Linda McSpadden McNeil%2C an education professor at %0D%0ARice University who has studied the issue extensively. She believes %0D%0ANo Child Left Behind is treating education like a business%2C with %0D%0Astrangers managing schools remotely.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22You could have a great arts program%2C an unsafe playground%2C your %0D%0Aceiling falling in%2C or national merit scholars%2C%22 says Dr. McNeil. %0D%0A%22But all they look at is the passing rate of the children in your %0D%0Abuilding.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AThe new regulations have had the worst impact on minority schools%2C %0D%0Ashe says%2C many of which are considered %22low performing%3B%22 under %0D%0Apressure to get their scores up%2C these schools were the first to dump %0D%0Atraditional curriculum and do test prep almost exclusively.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22That is not adding up to any cumulative knowledge%2C%22 she says. %22The %0D%0ANo Child Left Behind legislation is really a very expensive ruse to %0D%0Akeep from having to make the serious investment to make our schools %0D%0Areally good schools. That%27s the biggest way the system cheats.%22%0D%0A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%0D%0A