Throwing the Book: Is Prison Too Harsh for Atlanta School Cheating Scandal?

[Malthus]

Not sure how the system of funding works in the US. Is it true that schools where the kids test high on the standardized tests get more funding? Because that seems nuts to me.

[grumbler]

..No Child Left Alive ...

MAH SHTICK!

[grumbler]

Not sure how the system of funding works in the US. Is it true that schools where the kids test high on the standardized tests get more funding? Because that seems nuts to me.

Not quite, but schools that perform poorly over a long enough period of time lose their federal aid.  Teachers get fired (but find other jobs) and students get screwed over (but can't get another education).  It's insane.  Thanks, Obama!

[Admiral Yi]

They also got not fired, which was apparently the primary motivator.  The scandal is a direct result of No Child Left Alive and the braindead performance targets it forces on schools.  Once you get into the pattern of committing fraud to save your job, it isn't too hard to go a little further and get some bonuses too.

I was unaware that NCLB had a teacher performance aspect.  I thought it was all at the school level.

Which of course begs the question of how any system that rewards good teacher performance and punishes poor performance can be made impervious to gaming/cheating.

[Martinus]

I don't think seven years is too harsh, no.

is there any felony for which you would think it too harsh?  This is about as low-grade a felony as I can think of (it's not quite victimless, but it's close) and seven years of actual time is a lot for a crime that, it turns out, is only punished by some weekend service if you kiss the judge's ass.

Well, Habbaku is a gun-totting redneck idiot as he has consistently proven. What did you expect?

[grumbler]

They also got not fired, which was apparently the primary motivator.  The scandal is a direct result of No Child Left Alive and the braindead performance targets it forces on schools.  Once you get into the pattern of committing fraud to save your job, it isn't too hard to go a little further and get some bonuses too.

Yep.  there was some greed involved on the part of some of the defendants, but they all started to cheat after trying, and failing, for years to do it the "right way."  One of the ironies of the case was that the scores for students of teachers in those same schools who refused to cheat ALSO went up; once the bogus school scores convinced the kids they could do well on the tests, they actually did do well on the tests.

[Habbaku]

Aww, Martinus' checks to his boyfriends must have bounced this week.

[grumbler]

I was unaware that NCLB had a teacher performance aspect.  I thought it was all at the school level.

Which of course begs the question of how any system that rewards good teacher performance and punishes poor performance can be made impervious to gaming/cheating.

The schools were to be closed and all the teachers and administrators in them fired.  Atlanta School Board FTW!

[The Brain]

Jail time for racketeering doesn't sound too harsh.

[Malthus]

They also got not fired, which was apparently the primary motivator.  The scandal is a direct result of No Child Left Alive and the braindead performance targets it forces on schools.  Once you get into the pattern of committing fraud to save your job, it isn't too hard to go a little further and get some bonuses too.

I was unaware that NCLB had a teacher performance aspect.  I thought it was all at the school level.

Which of course begs the question of how any system that rewards good teacher performance and punishes poor performance can be made impervious to gaming/cheating.

I'm certainly no expert, but from what I've gleaned from this thread the problem seems to lie in the fact that the same system is used to both reward/punish teacher performance *and* to make decisions concerning school funding. This seems to me leads to all sorts of problems, particularly if the source of kids performance on the tests is not totally linked to teacher performance in teaching.

For example, assume a teacher cares deeply about the community of kids he or she is teaching, and they do poorly on the tests; the teacher may be convinced (rightly or wrongly) that (1) they are not themselves the source of the poor performance; and (2) if the poor test results continue, the kids will lose funding.

Add to that the issue that they will potentially lose their jobs, this creates a strong incentive to cheat.

[The Brain]

If you're willing to commit crimes to keep your job then you shouldn't have your job in the first place.

[Monoriu]

The solution is centralised exam by a third party authority 

[crazy canuck]

Is it possible for a Court to require a party to waive their right to appeal?

[Admiral Yi]

The solution is centralised exam by a third party authority 

NCLB tests are developed by each state.

I want to know which genius thought it was a good idea to have the teachers proctor their own students.

[crazy canuck]

I want to know which genius thought it was a good idea to have the teachers proctor their own students.

Probably the same genius who decided it was a good idea to ascribe importance to this sort of test