So, yesterday, it was announced that a probe on Atlanta public schools proved that the majority of principals and administrators in Atlanta Public Schools altered test scores and otherwise cheated on the CRCT exams to make schools look good and to increase pass rates on the tests.
Story here: http://www.ajc.com/news/school-by-school-crct-1001745.html?cxntlid=brkng_nws_bnr
I don't for a minute believe that such a phenomenon is not spread across the entire state, including my area. It makes me glad I homeschool, but sad because I know many kids who could be affected by this.
Still, they want homeschoolers to test, test, test to prove we are doing a good job. That's not even working for the public school kids. Perhaps testing should stop so kids can get actual instruction?
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There's something psychological at work, that makes us believe that something tested is better than something not, even if the testing is fake, altered, or plain ineffective.
It's the same reason we think that planes are more dangerous than cars, the same reason statistics change our mind about things, and why grades alter the educational experience. It's also the same reason we believe in old wive's tales and most of the world's religions. Our brains are wired somehow to lean towards trusting something that is "proven" with numbers or authority, even when that "proof is wrong or made up.
So, when something doesn't have numbers or authority saying it's OK, we crave it and demand it.
Maybe, eventually, when enough celebrities homeschool, that might be enough to satisfy our brain's psychological need to fill that belief gap.
Yep. I thought of you when I read this. Some folks are blaming the "system" for tempting them to cheat, saying it put them in a bad position. How about "nobody made you take this job?"
The people I feel sorry for are 1. the children and 2. the taxpayers in that order. :(
Thanks for sharing this on the Carnival of Homeschooling!
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