By Kristin

Are any of us really surprised by the news that 35 Atlanta Schools district officials and employees, including the Superintendent, were indicted because of cheating on state tests?

Of course we are.  In Washington State we're not so whipped about scores that we can imagine going into a windowless, locked room, being called the "chosen ones," and replacing wrong answers with right. I think it should stay that way.  The line between honorable and desperate isn't so thick we can assume teachers in Washington will never be told to raise their scores no matter what it took – wink wink.  In fact it's already happened.

Years ago I was at a Lake Washington school where we piloted the early WASLs.  Scores were published in the local paper, and my principal published scores by teacher name for us to study at staff meetings. There was no "growth" included here, just the spring score.  

In a grade-level team meeting during the WASL, one young ambitious teacher reminded us that it was okay to keep booklets in our rooms overnight so we could read through them and use post-its to mark missed answers.  Kids could fix mistakes the next day.  

A science teacher jumped on him.  No way, she said, aghast.  That wasn't allowed by the rules and where did he hear such a thing?  He heard it, wink wink nudge nudge, from the principal.  And to be honest, he probably did.  The cheating teacher regularly had the highest scores of the school and was vocally praised for it by my principal.  That probably felt good to him. 

I don't know if he continued to keep tests and mark pages, but he knew no one else was with him.  If my principal had tried to pressure the group, she would have been exposed.  Parents want great test scores, yes, but they want great test scores that are actually true.

So how did it happen in Atlanta that a group of educators were willing to stay after school in a locked room and cheat?

Well, like all disasters of human origin, it happened slowly.

• Administrators were financially rewarded for high test scores and fired for low.
• Teachers who didn't help their administrator in the high test score race were fired.
• Teachers who were financially vulnerable, single moms in particular, were roped into helping to make this happen – or else.
• The political and business community praised high test scores and forgot to look at other indicators of success.  
• Parents appreciated high test scores and didn't think to question why their child was testing well but couldn't write Grandma a thank you note.

When I was hired by Lake Washington I was asked the interview question, "How would you handle it if you caught a student cheating?"  I knew, because I'd been prepped by a mentor, that the right answer was, "If he's cheating, it's because he didn't feel ready for the test or the pressure to perform was overwhelming.  I don't want my students to feel that way."  Apparently, educators in Atlanta felt "that way."  Let's make sure it doesn't happen here.

Washington districts and student-advocacy groups who are currently making their loudest noise about test scores need to step back and examine how a school treats the whole child.  How do we avoid the kind of cheating Atlanta experienced?

• Fully support struggling schools so they can serve their children. High scores require a healthy, happy child.
• Appreciate and publicize other indicators of success – artistic achievement, community involvement, family engagement, graduation rates, college success, and meaningful internships.
• Celebrate authentic content-area accomplishments of traditionally underserved students – science and math/engineering awards, published writing, and performance are truer indicators of "ready for career" than taking a test
• Witness.  You can look at a spreadsheet and draw conclusions, or you can walk halls, enter classrooms, talk to students and draw conclusions.  
• Do not financially reward for high scores.  Period.  As Monsieur Poirot points out again and again, people will kill their mothers for money.  There are a million other ways to offer financial incentives to educators – extra time, going the extra mile, taking on more responsibility, or mentoring others to name but a few – pay for scores should not even be considered.

But in Atlanta it was.  Hmmm.  Makes you think.