Widespread Cheating on Performance Testing is Found in Georgia Schools

Maybe America Doesn’t Need More Education, At Least Not This Type

In a previous Post The Dismal Political Economist lamented the budget cuts that were reducing American education at a time when a more educated work force was needed for the U. S. to compete in global markets.  Now there is news that a major cheating activity took place in Atlanta schools on tests designed to measure educational performance.

The report is pretty discouraging.

the cheating occurred at 44 schools and involved at least 178 teachers and principals, almost half of whom have confessed,

and

At the center of the cheating scandal is former Superintendent Beverly L. Hall, who was named the 2009 National Superintendent of the Year and has been considered one of the nation’s best at running large, urban districts.

Dr. Hall, who announced in November that she would be leaving the job at the end of June, left Tuesday for a Hawaiian vacation.

and

Dr. Hall’s administration punished whistle-blowers, hid or manipulated information and illegally altered documents related to the tests, the investigation found. The superintendent and her administration “emphasized test results and public praise to the exclusion of integrity and ethics,” the investigators wrote.

Enjoy your vacation Dr. Hall, and if you want to stay extra, well go ahead.  Three to five years would be just fine, maybe less with good behavior.