As this case shows if this is the best for the $ then we are in trouble.

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Jim

We've been in trouble for a long time. It's now that the chickens are coming home to roost in a big way and the problems become more obvious.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

That's what the CEO's of multinationals argue.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Given the fact that No Child Left Behind, tied funding to passing rates on standardized tests, it's not that surprising that school systems began offering bonuses to administrators for increasing the pass rates on these tests. Ergo. . .

I know DPS gives such bonuses to principals. I don't know for a fact that Atlanta does. But. . .

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

When was it different?

During Bush jrs first term the head honcho of eduction was a guy here from Houston ,his program was very much the same mentioned in this report.On paper it looked good but behind the scenes very few kids were moving forward in their education.It eventually was swept under the rug.

Not sure about other parts of the country but in rural Ga the teachers are the ones that are putting up with that crap all day from the spoiled brats but they are always the first to get cut. When I was in school here many years ago you had one superintendent and one secretary and each school had a principal with a couple secretaries. Now when you walk in you got a building full of the super/assist supers (three or four) and their secretaries totaling about 6 ppl making good money. Then you have the principals at the schools with their administration. The number of kids graduating every year has always been between 70 and 80. We had 75 in our graduating class.

Oh yea, they are building a brand new school that is going to cover k-12 grades. Millions of dollars of the taxpayers money being spent on that.

__________________
Jim

What bothers me is not only that the teachers changed the answers and were encouraged and abetted by the administrators, but that there were that many tests that needed "alterations".
GA is close to the bottom of the barrel in U.S. education and has been for some time. This just brings it into the light.

Even if they were only "teaching to the test", they failed miserably at that.

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Maybe they're all "student-athletes" in that district . . .

Not all schools give bonuses for pass rates, not by a long shot. However, ALL districts are under the gun to perform on standardized tests, and let me say this in an apolitical way, DUE TO NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.
In AZ, schools that are deemed to be "underperforming" as a result of their standardized test scores mandated by NCLB can be and have been taken over by the state dept. of education, their administrations and staffs replaced and their scores "improved".
Keep in mind, in case you're not a classroom teacher or administrator, that ALL students, whether they're in Special education, or are ELL students who cannot read or write in English are required to be tested without assistance. No teacher or other test proctor is allowed to translate, or explain or help. The topping on the cake is that in figuring the average scores for a school, NO SCORES can be disaggregated. In short, schools with high ELL populations and or an abundance of resource students are screwed from the get-go.
The above referenced behavior of school officials is one of many reasons why merit pay is a bad idea in education. Educators are human too, and there are always going to be a few bad apples who'll turn.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

Bingo. The test scores were miserable before they "miraculously" shot up just after the last round of testing. The investigation showed that the increases were statistically impossible. Not improbable, but impossible. The system was broken long before the cheating occurred. This was just crap-flavored icing on a crap-flavored cake.

NLCB was a seriously flawed, if well-intentioned, response to a very real problem. It needs to go.
My wife was in public education for 15 years before leaving for the private education sector. She said it was a corrupt culture and was no better than the corporate sector. Those in charge would sell you out and throw you under the bus for any whistleblowing. Seniority was supreme and public funds were used as personal bank accounts. Sound familiar? Only too human.

And its to the shame of the Boards of Directors that they accept that.
There MAY be a correlation between compensation and performance and ethical behavior, but there may not be.
Accountability--we all need to be accountable to someone.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Been done here in Denver, very early on in No Child Left Behind. Fired all the administrators and teachers at the school and turned it over to a private school corporation. Big hoopla--unions gone, public bureuacracy gone, merit pay private system in place--problem solved. Result--same test scores with the new school. Not much publicity about that. Diane Ravitch is the one to read on this topic. She shares a fair amount of the blame for No Child Left Behind but at least she's come around and realized it's not accomplishing anything.

I would seriously like to know if Atlanta was paying bonuses to administrators for increasing scores and graduation rates. I know they do in DPS. Principal at my wife's school simply told the teachers--you can't give as many 'F's'.

Here's another example of cheating and bonuses:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:kSDPLnjBCI4J:cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/lehman-high-principal-in-grade-tampering-inquiry/+were+atlanta+principals+given+bonuses+for+increasing+pass+rates%3F&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a&source=www.google.com

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13