No Cheating Left Behind

If test scores look too good to be true, they probably are. “Yet another test-tampering scandal has erupted, this time involving teachers at Normandy Crossing Elementary School in suburban Houston, Texas,” Sarah McIntosh reported in the September 2010 issue of School Reform News. “When test results came back, many were amazed at astonishing improvement in state science test scores.”

“The scores were so good, Galena Park Independent School District officials decided to launch an investigation. As a result, Normandy Crossing’s principal, assistant principal, and three teachers resigned in late May.”

“The Texas teachers reportedly put together a study guide to the exam after scrutinizing the science test.

“According to district investigators, teachers ‘tubed’ the test—squeezing the test booklet to see the questions inside without breaking the seal. After discovering the tampering, the district invalidated the students’ test scores.

“The pressure to cheat can be high—and lucrative. The 5^th grade math and science teachers at Normandy Crossing stood to receive a bonus of nearly $3,000 each for delivering higher test scores.”

School Reform News is published by the Heartland Institute. McIntosh teaches constitutional law and American Politics at Wichita State.

Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.

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