There is nothing worse than walking past one of your struggling students who just isn't getting anything right on his or her test. It is even worse when you KNOW that this student is trying really hard, but somehow still missing the boat. To add another layer, the test they are taking is THE test of the school year and basically the only test that matters to this kid's parents and to the administrators. Even as this student tugs on my heart strings, I am still not going to cheat for the kid! I swear, I am the only teacher not cheating on the DC CAS. The whole thing is outrageous. Now, as I read Freakonomics three years ago, I thought this whole teachers cheating for their students on standardized tests was an interesting economic problem, but I have one message for Steven Levitt: most teachers cheat and they do not have to go as far as changing the bubbled in answers; it's far easier than that. Let's try calling out answers and clues in front of the whole class. But really, how is this helping the students or the schools. My students absolutely NEED to be able to score well on multiple choice/essay tests and if they can't Michelle Rhee and my school's principal and the student's parents and the student need to know. If I lower my standards now in the fourth grade, how will that help a student get into a competitive high school or how will that help a student learn to score well on a test like the SAT? I know I'm not the best teacher yet, but I figure the two things I can give my students is a realistic view of their achievements and love--as cheesy as that sounds. That is my rant of the day.
1 comment:
at my school, teachers have cheated before and the kids still can't make proficient. how messed up is that? so sad.
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