Oklahoma Exam Cheating Leads To Resignations, Retesting

With mounting pressure from performance benchmarks on standardized tests, an increasing number of cheating scandals are unfolding across the country as teachers are pushed to extremes to meet state and national standards. The latest incidents fall in Oklahoma.

Test scores for six schools were invalidated for testing irregularities during the 2010-2011 academic year, The Oklahoman reports. The infractions found from erasure analyses and investigations have resulted in at least three resignations and several other punitive or retraining measures. Students will have to retake their exams.

Teachers were found to have given students chances to correct wrong answers before turning their exams in, or had given students "assistance and answers."

Maridyth McBee, interim assistant state superintendent, told The Oklahoman that the state randomly inspects testing classrooms and conducts erasure analyses on exam answer sheets, but it's difficult to catch everything. When asked if the cheating is more widespread than reported in the investigation, McBee answered, "of course."

Oklahoma's report comes months after findings from a two-year investigation released last summer that found widespread cheating among educators in at least 44 Atlanta schools.

Investigators at the time implicated 178 Atlanta educators involved in test tampering, including erasing students' incorrect answers on standardized tests and replacing them with correct ones. The findings revealed one of the largest cheating scandals in American public school history, shaking the country and "stunned" U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Atlanta's revelation triggered a domino effect of analyses and investigations across the country, leading to numerous discoveries of teacher cheating scandals in areas spanning from Atlanta's neighboring Dougherty County to Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and California, among others.

Repercussions for guilty educators also varied by district. Atlanta teachers found guilty of cheating lost their jobs and had their licenses revoked. Connecticut educators kept their positions but lost pay and had to offer after-school tutoring.

The uncovering of the cheating scandal that plagued Atlanta Public Schools last year unveiled a widespread and deeply embedded culture of cheating, fear, intimidation and retaliation among the district's educators. The teachers were afraid, reports showed, to be held accountable for students who performed poorly on standardized tests and subsequently be evaluated poorly, miss out on bonuses or contribute to their school and district's inability to receive funding for meeting or exceeding federal benchmarks.

The school district also agreed this month to repay more than $363,000 in federal money that it won by teachers and administrators cheating.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[cdecisneros]

10:59 AM on 03/09/2012

After the tests have been taken, can they be sent directly to the company that does the scoring without there being a chance to have a so called "bubble party."

[Melissa Irlandez]

09:59 AM on 02/07/2012

It appears to me that too many elementary schools have students who do poorly on these standardized tests. This is my two cents, schools give kids a battery of cognitive tests- Cogat in 1st and 3rd grade. Kids who are above average get shifted to one side, kids who are average get shifted to another side and the children with learning needs get another side. These 3 subgroups need to be taught different ways. They are not all equal. After that give them 1 big test in 5 th grade- before middle school. Give them anouther big test in 9th grade. For those children still behind transition them to technical studies so they can work after high school. Give them a future. For the average children put pressure on the parents to do more with them, ie they have to read and do math in the summer. For the above average kids ditto, but also really challenge them. This test for the test is ridiculous. If a kid knows the stuff he/she will choose the correct answer. All kids are not the same. In the "olden"days only the top 10% would graduate and attend college. The rest would get a job in a factory. People have not gotten smarter the expectations have gotten out of hand. Our country doesn't provide jobs for the non Einstein's very well.

[MissMichelleP]

09:47 PM on 01/29/2012

When I taught in North Carolina, we were warned over and over again about test security. We were told to not even walk around the room while the students were taking the tests. But, after testing was all over with, we would have a "bubble party" where the teachers would go through and look for stray marks. I hated those "parties". I never felt fully comfortable with them. I know that I never changed any marks. But, I can't promise that nobody else did. In fact, one year, I made a point to schedule a "very important" doctor's appointment on the day of the bubble party in order to be able to get out of it.

[stopnlisten]

12:38 PM on 01/29/2012

To the uneducated posters:
Did you know that on standardized tests, if a question is ansered correctly by too many kids, it is thrown out? There has to be a percentage of students that fail the question. Moving target. Those tests were made as teacher tools not an indication of overall success. How about we change the bar where you work every time you are too successful. Chew on that one.

[stopnlisten]

12:31 PM on 01/29/2012

Choice given by No Child Left Behind:

Get fired because the students don't care and the parents don't either or get fired if you are caught cheating on standardized tests that used to be nothing more than progress indicators used as teacher tools. Which rope do teachers use to hang themselves? This was all set up so that private industry could come in and scoop up the very government contracts and subsidies they so hypocritically wage war against. Just follow the money trail on who sells standardized tests and you will know just what happened.

[MissMichelleP]

09:43 PM on 01/29/2012

Do you mean the people who own the ranch in Texas right next to GW? Noooo, that's just a coincidence. Heck, don't most people hate their neighbors?

(I really hope you read that in the sarcastic manner in which it was written.)

[johnmarlin]

11:41 PM on 01/28/2012

No one can be "taught" anything. They can be encouraged and assisted to learn, but if they don't want to learn they can't be taught.

[foresure]

04:35 PM on 01/28/2012

Let me save all the teachers from having to defend themselves. I will offer their defenses.

1. We are overworkded and underpaid.

2. We can't get no respect.

3. All our surpervisors know nothing about our labors, and have the unfair, unfair expectation that are students will learn something from attending class.

4. The following type children are unteachable:

a) ______________ b) _______________ c) ________________ so it really isn't the responsibilty of the teachers to teach them.. If we can "control' them, we have done more than enough.

5. We were embarrassed, threatened, harrassed, worried about our jobs. What would any other self respecting professional do, but cheat?

6. We were promised a lifetime job so long as we showed up to class,

Who ever said anything about our students learning? So,.so unfair. Changing the "goal posts" in the mlddle of the game.

7. Anyone who has not been the classromm ten years has no right to judge teachers.

[johnmarlin]

11:34 PM on 01/28/2012

Several reasons for getting fired.

[foresure]

11:09 AM on 01/29/2012

johnmarlin

It would be interesting to know how many of them are back in the classroom, somewhere, in January, 2014.

Of course we never will know that.

[MrOnePercent2012]

12:28 PM on 01/28/2012

Why doesn't Obama propose giving every high school student straight A's? Then we can pretend they aren't all as dumb as a box of rocks.

[johnmarlin]

11:34 PM on 01/28/2012

Kennedy already did that.

[Dean Wariner]

02:06 AM on 01/28/2012

Teachers, parents and administrators are responsible for student success. If these three work together to benefit the student all will be well. We have a very good teacher training system in this country and most of my fellow teachers K-12 have advanced degrees or national certification to attest to their ability as professionals. What they don't have is adequate financial support in the classroom or a reasonable curriculum with reasonal standards to work from. We can produce an educated product given half a chance. But with constant revising of state standards and unrealistic improvement goals, the task is impossible. I continue to teach because I believe in what I am doing and can see students leave my school with ambitions and abilities.

[Always Keeping the Faith]

07:43 AM on 01/28/2012

I understand what you mean about the constant revisions. With so many states adopting a common core curriculum, there will soon be more revisions and chaos again. (Although I am hopeful that the common core standards will hopefully end all this nonsense once and for all.) Folks who are not in this profession or don't know someone truly in its trenches just don't understand the unrealistic expectations being placed on teachers at this time in this country.

[blindjester]

04:08 PM on 01/28/2012

I hate the common core.

It has nothing in common with my inner-city kids.

I agree with the frustration with constant changes.

[drudriver]

09:53 AM on 01/28/2012

You are absolutely right. I wish the general public would educate themselves on education. We have lawmakers passing laws who have NEVER set foot in a public school.

[Donald Chase]

01:54 AM on 01/28/2012

There is no possible way to have a standardized test that applies to all parts of the nation. The differences about where you are raised and what your local needs are influence the education you need and are given. People living in the country do not need the same educational goals as city dwellers as both are vastly different. Once past about the 6th grade where kids should be educated more towards their locality and no amount of generalized testing is ever going to make a valid comparison.

[Soft and Gentle]

02:22 AM on 01/28/2012

I had three classmates (out of a class of 18) that went to the School of Mines in SD, when they graduated they had companies from all over the nation coming in to hire them. One went to Texas, one to Maryland, and the other to California. From what you are saying they should have been steered toward the local economy.... farming. Heck now a days most of the kids take high school classes in college to get them up to speed.

[Donald Chase]

12:59 PM on 01/28/2012

Again you misunderstand or misrepresent my words. I am not saying they be taught any less vigerously but they should be taught and tested using terms and things they can relate to. I am saying that o generic test lest it be taken down to just the very basic three R's and only then to a 6th grade or less level can ever give a real reflection of across the board treaching or learning. Having been raised on a farm and living in various cities I spesk from experience that people in various parts of the country have nearly their own language. A kid raised in the poor section of town does not understand the same terminology as a kid raised in the "elite" part of town or the verbage from rural America.

[damoonldy]

10:08 AM on 01/28/2012

Well, Donald, I think you don't have a clue how complicated it is to be a farmer. Do you think that they don't use advanced math or computers or have to maintain their records? They have balance sheets and expenses just like a corporation in a big city. They have to know a bit of science and chemistry and a whole lot of biology.

Last time I checked, math, science, English, these were all the same whether you did the equation in Manhattan, NY or Manhattan, KS.

[Donald Chase]

12:51 PM on 01/28/2012

Just like these dang liberals you want to take a simple statement and complicate it. The only thing I was saying is that after the 6th grade generic for everyone learning cycle, these kids need more targeted teaching and there is no way a single blanket test can cover all the possible choices they should have. Kids in the City use nearly an entirely different language as kids in the country for one thing. I never suggested their education be any less than anywhere else but shoule be targeted toward their abilities and interests.

[Donald Chase]

12:52 PM on 01/28/2012

Oh and by the way I was raised on a farm and have lived in the city as well so I speak from experience on both ends.

[teegerard]

01:08 AM on 01/28/2012

so far all the states that got caught was red state republican

[Soft and Gentle]

01:19 AM on 01/28/2012

And all the teachers are Democrats, Republicans find the cheating, Democrats cover it up to protect their Unions and the donations from Teachers Unions.

[barb582]

07:43 AM on 01/28/2012

hahahahahha

[Always Keeping the Faith]

07:51 AM on 01/28/2012

There you go again, Soft and Gentle, making those glittering generalities.

[MrOnePercent2012]

12:30 PM on 01/28/2012

So there are no Dims in those states?

[mugwhump]

12:47 AM on 01/28/2012

It's all about the money. Always has and always will be.

[drudriver]

09:53 AM on 01/28/2012

Bingo!

[Chivasery]

12:10 AM on 01/28/2012

Where can we, the public, get a look at these tests our nation's children are given?

[Always Keeping the Faith]

12:37 AM on 01/28/2012

Released test items should be available at any state's department of education website.

[Always Keeping the Faith]

11:57 PM on 01/27/2012

I have been a teacher for 15 years. Since NCLB, the only teaching I do is teach students how to take and pass a test. Yes, hours a week are spent teaching how to strategically answer multiple choice questions, short answer items, and extended responses (complete with a grading rubric so students can self-evaluate and evaluate their peers' answers). Not one reading or math lesson gets by without beating into the ground all "possible" state test-type questions which could stem from it. Students "must know" their scores from the previous year and "must know" their score goals for this year in case an administrator asks them. They take practice tests to learn how to stay still and focused for two hours once a week to build endurance for the test. Sadly, the only thing these tests really measure is the art of test taking. They measure nothing of significance. Before these tests, students came to me alert and ready. Now, they respond like deer in headlights, for all they have done in school is "cover" what teachers think will be on the state test. They have mastered nothing. They have internalized nothing. They will spend another year with me reviewing what they have "covered" the last two years and will "cover" what they need for this year's test. Someone please remind me just how these tests help our young people become assets to our country and measure how good of a teacher I am again?

[damoonldy]

08:26 AM on 01/28/2012

And was it the US Dept of Education that came up with this strategy of teaching to the test? Pretty ridiculous.
Passing a multiple choice test requires only the knowledge that if any part of the answer is incorrect, that it cannot be the correct choice.
Knowing the subject well enough to recognize an incorrect answer requires a competent teacher with the ability to inspire the students to learn.

[eceresa]

08:54 AM on 01/28/2012

To the ignorant, what you said seems correct. That's why more people aren't placing the blame correctly in this whole debacle.

In reality, standardized test scores vary mostly based on student and parent factors; the school has very little to do with the variation in scores. When the current wave of all-important testing was suggested, and it was made clear that the tests wouldn't be used for their intended purpose (to evaluate students), but to evaluate their schools and teachers (a purpose for which they aren't effective), it was a foregone conclusions that schools would have to try to minimize the very limited influence they have on test scores by narrowing the curriculum to test prep. Everyone who knew what they were talking about predicted it. And they were right.

And now, people like you are blaming them for it.

[Always Keeping the Faith]

01:04 PM on 01/28/2012

Ha, and the fun part is ... there are usually two possibly correct answers in the inferential multiple-choice questions. The puzzle is to figure out the BEST possible answer, or at least the one that the standardized publishing company thinks is the best answer. These multiple choice questions from my state's tests are not so easily deciphered as your post implies. Too many variables exist. This game playing with the tests has to stop already.

[petpetdonna]

11:53 PM on 01/27/2012

Your union teachers, not hard at work.

[Always Keeping the Faith]

12:02 AM on 01/28/2012

Thanks, after I just typically put in more than 60 hours in my teaching job this past week. I'm a union teacher and I am hard at work. Please don't make blanket statements like that. I am sure you are not as ignorant as your post makes you sound. If you can read this, thank a teacher.

[Soft and Gentle]

02:01 AM on 01/28/2012

I guess we should thank all you GREAT teachers for having our country reading at a 7th grade level. I guess if you set your goals low enough, you will eventually hit them. You blame the test, If you folks put as much effort into the classroom as you did in recalls we wouldn't be having this conversation. By the way, my wife runs her own business and works over 60 hrs every week, 52 weeks a year and pulls down less than a teacher., and pays in over 18 grand a year in taxes. It appears you are the one that is ignorant about the hard work small business people put in to subsidize your substandard work. Produce or let someone else take your spot!!

[rt1027]

12:55 AM on 01/28/2012

agreed