Some Teachers in a Bind Over ‘No Child Left Behind’

Rearrange the letters in the word “teach” and you get “cheat.” It has apparently become all too easy for some teachers in the United States to blur the distinction.

Pennsylvania is the latest of several states conducting an investigation. Georgia has already gone through one, and that investigation uncovered 178 teachers and principals who cheated on student proficiency exams. The scandal went further than simply teaching on the test. Some educators were correcting wrong answers on the test sheets. Read more and see the video.

Part of the problem is that student test scores are now used not only to judge schools, but as a measuring stick for how well teachers and principals are doing their jobs. Bonuses and job security can be tied to the scores.

• Is there a difference between cheating and ‘bending the rules?’
• Is it ever okay to cheat?
• If you were a teacher and knew that such cheating was going on, would you report it? What if you also knew that the administration condoned the cheating?
• How can one resist the temptation to bend the rules in order to compete or get ahead?
• Is cheating just part of human nature?