Forum Post: Teaching to the Test Meets Paid Performance: What the Atlanta Scenario Means

Wow. 35 teachers accused of cheating. So why did they do it?

It couldnt be that they are paid poorly? I believe the average salary is around 50k a year, thats a nice paycheck. So if anyone did it because of money, it was probably someone making around 30k a year.

Bonuses for better test scores? Again, thats motivated by cash, so it would be lower paid teachers. Some data on the salaries of all those indicted, in relation to the salaries of those who didnt, would be great.

That being said, what was deemed "cheating" by the state is anyone's guess.

What in the hell have we turned our entire education system into? k-12 has turned into a joke. Ive heard numerous teachers state that they cannot teach when kids dont come in knowing the very basics. And not just the basics of school, but the basics of life. Like how to sit still, and how to wait your turn to talk. So there are parents dropping the ball.

9-12 grades is so watered down, its almost pointless at this point. No one comes out with anything decent at the age of 18, hence then needing to go to college. It didnt used to be like this. So why has the school system not kept up with the world? Its going in the exact opposite direction. As we move from a labor society to a brains society, the schools have removed the labor aspect of learning, and not replaced it with anything. Why are all high school students not coming out of highschool with some kind of base for a professional career? Students are not capable? Not at all. "They" simply dont want progress in that area.

College- the first two years are nothing more than rehashed 9-12 garbage. The last two years you get a little bit into your discipline, but certainly most don't come out with the level of knowledge that 4 YEARS should give someone. And yet it costs a boatload.

Teaching to the test, centralizing decision making with the state and even more so with the feds, not allowing teachers to be creative.

This is what we get.

Education is the key. Always has been, always will be. And simply throwing more money at a busted system isnt going to do a damn thing. Shrinking class size is great, but when the teacher is nothing more than a robot at the front, we are still stuck with the same shitty results, just more refined.

All this Atlanta story shows is how broken this entire country is. Too much relying on others to make decisions- others that many times are just rich assholes- and not enough participation.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57577230/atlanta-schools-cheating-suspects-to-surrender/