The Education Wonks: Cheating Teachers Get Their Just Deserts

The Education Wonks: Cheating Teachers Get Their Just Deserts: "What happened when several 'educators' in Houston, Texas got caught cheating on federally-mandated tests? CNN gives the answer:

Administrators in Texas' largest school district said Wednesday they plan to fire six teachers and demote two principals and an assistant principal after finding evidence of cheating on state tests at four schools.

Houston Independent School District Superintendent Abe Saavedra said three other district employees, including a principal, will receive formal reprimands.

It serves them right. Whenever an educator cheats on an exam, not only does the despicable act serve to cheapen the profession of teaching, but it robs parents and other educators of information that this vitally needed in order to identify each child's areas of concern for needed interventions. This was how the fraud was committed at one campus:

At one school, investigators found that four eighth-graders were taken from their regular classrooms to another room where a math teacher helped them answer questions.

The four answered all of the test questions the same way -- and incorrectly answered the same two questions.

I think that it would be safe to assume that in this instance the perpetrators weren't the sharpest pencils in the box."