Re: Bribing Students for Test Scores -- Need More Examples

[aburke5054@aol.com]

Well, is the message "Cheat but don't get caught," or isn't it?  You're 
right there, how are the rest of us supposed to know?

If that really is the message, that's trouble for parents and kids, and 
public education, more so if it's widespread and not merely the actions 
of a few bad apples - so what are you doing about it?  You're speaking 
as a union leader so I would have hoped to see something more 
constructive.

Art

-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Gerson <jackrgerson@gmail.com>
To: arn-l@interversity.org
Sent: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:04 am
Subject: Re: [arn-l] Bribing Students for Test Scores -- Need More 
Examples

Manny's right. Some Oakland teachers have been encouraged to "actively
proctor" (i.e., coach) during high-stakes test administration.  At the 
same
time, in the same Eli Broad-controlled school district, some Oakland
teachers are disciplined for daring to speak encouragingly to students 
(not
coaching, encouraging) during test administration. Last year, several
teachers at one Oakland small high school were "caught" talking to 
students
during administration of the California High School Exit Examination, 
and
were all forced to resign under threat of action to suspend their 
teaching
credentials. What's the impicit message here? "Cheat, but don't let us 
catch
you at it." Which is the same message high stakes testing sends to our
students.

Jack Gerson
Executive Board, Oakland Education Association

On Jan 23, 2008 11:02 PM, Manny Lopez <moveonit@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> While I can't speak to "bribes" and or "bounties", I can speak to 
being
> encouraged to "actively proctor" during high-stakes test 
administration, to
> have "test chats" with my students, and to inform certain parents of 
their
> right (at least in California) to waive their children/students from
> high-stakes tests.  Guess which parents.  Of course, I didn't do any 
of the
> above and was also asked if I could use help in proctoring to which I
> replied, "Be my guest" as I always have things to do in the classroom 
or
> behind my desk that directly concern my students.  Count me in on any
> attempt by anyone to get this in some sort of record.  The truth must 
be
> told and I'm so plainly unafraid.
>
>  Manny Lopez
>  Secretary, Oakland Education Association
>
>  p.s.  I have actual documents to support these claims and will offer 
them
> to interested parties should they deem it relevant if not necessary.
>
> Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net> wrote:
>  If you are aware of other cases of student "bribes" or teacher
> "bounties" for high test scores, please let us know -- major media are
> pursuing this topic.
>
>
> SCHOOLS TO OFFER PAY FOR SCORES
> CITY INCENTIVES UP TO $110 PER STUDENT FOR GRADUATION TESTS
> Baltimore Sun -- January 23, 2007
> by Sara Neufeld
>
> The Baltimore school system will pay high school students who improve
> their scores on the state graduation exams up to $110 each, a
> controversial plan that would be a first in Maryland.
>
> The system will spend $935,622 on the student incentives, part of a 
$6.3
> million plan to help students struggling to pass Maryland's High 
School
> Assessments that administrators presented to the school board last 
night.
> State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick approved the plan last week. 
But
> in a letter to city schools chief Andres Alonso, she expressed concern
> about the "lack of ... research" supporting student incentives and
> required the system to closely track student results.
>
> Grasmick's OK was necessary because the system is funding the plan 
with
> money from the settlement of a dispute over a federal audit, and the
> state must approve how that money is spent.
>
> Financial incentives for students are being used in New York City, 
where
> Alonso was deputy chancellor before becoming CEO of the Baltimore
> schools in July. In a program created by a Harvard economist that 
began
> last fall, students in New York can earn up to $500 for test scores 
and
> good attendance.
>
> According to accounts in The New York Times, the program has been
> controversial, pitting educators who believe that students should 
learn
> for the love of it against leaders eager to reverse the tide of low
> student achievement.
>
> While the New York program uses private money for the student
> incentives, Baltimore is using public dollars. Alonso also said the
> programs are different because New York's is for younger students and 
is
> strictly about incentives. The incentives in Baltimore are part of a
> broader strategy to help older students pass high-stakes tests.
>
> Here, students who have failed at least one exam will earn $25 for
> improving test performance by 5 percent from where they started,
> according to the proposal submitted to Grasmick. If they improve an
> additional 15 percent, they will get $35 more. And 20 percent more
> growth earns an added $50, for a maximum of $110.
>
> Starting with the Class of 2009, this year's juniors, students must 
pass
> basic skills exams in algebra, English, biology and government, or 
make
> a combined passing score, to earn a high school diploma. But earlier
> this year, the state school board approved the option of a senior
> project for those who do not pass the exams, and since then principals
> have worried that they won't be able to keep struggling students
> motivated to learn the material.
>
> In an interview before last night's board meeting, Alonso said 
financial
> incentives for students have the potential to be "tremendously
> fruitful." The system's proposal said the incentives are designed to
> affect enrollment, attendance and test pass rates by giving students a
> reason to attend tutoring after school hours.
>
> Robert Schaeffer, public education director for the National Center 
for
> Fair and Open Testing, said the practice of paying students for 
improved
> test scores is gaining popularity nationally. He said schools in at
> least a dozen states are offering incentives.
>
> Schaeffer, whose organization is critical of the standardized testing
> movement, called the practice a "bribe" for students and a bounty for
> teachers. Incentives "may temporarily boost scores and make districts
> look a little better, but in the long run, there is no evidence that
> they improve educational quality, close achievement gaps or make kids
> into better students," he said. "They're like steroids, a short-term
> performance boost. The long-term impact may be damaging.
>
> "They distort the purpose of education, the belief that kids will do
> better for the money and create false expectations about everything 
else
> those students will do: Why aren't they bribing me in my social 
studies
> class? How much will they bribe me in college?"
>
> In the coming weeks, 34 Baltimore schools will be receiving a slice of
> the $6.3 million for interventions to help students struggling on the
> tests. Each of those schools must submit a plan detailing how it will
> spend the money by June 2009.
>
> The money will target more than 5,000 students in the classes of 2009
> and 2010 who have failed at least one of the four High School
> Assessments. The largest dollar amounts will go to the schools with 
the
> largest number of struggling students.
>
> The bulk of the money will go to more traditional interventions. The
> biggest chunk, $3.1 million, will be spent on extra help for students
> after school and on Saturdays, including one-on-one tutoring.
>
> Tutoring will be provided by students' peers who have passed the 
exams,
> in addition to college students, school staff and state-approved 
private
> tutoring companies.
>
> About $700,000 will be allocated specifically to pay high school and
> college students for tutoring work. Alonso said after the meeting that
> he is trying to provide schools with "a set of tools to motivate every
> child."
>
> There will also be an extra 10 days of training this summer for 
teachers
> of the tested subjects.
>
> The school system would have had to return the $6.3 million to the
> federal government by next year if it had not found a way to spend it
> that the Maryland State Department of Education approved. As the 
system
> is projecting $50 million in budget cuts for the next academic year,
> officials said they need to make use of all the money they can find.
>
> The money was an outcome of a 2004 audit of how the school system was
> spending its Title 1 money, federal funds earmarked for schools 
serving
> large numbers of poor children. The purpose of Title 1 money is to 
give
> poor children services beyond those that other students have, but the
> audit found the system using it for routine operations.
>
> As a result, state officials said in July 2004 that the system might
> have to repay $18 million in Title I money. To prevent that, the city
> schools and the state education department went through months of
> federal mediation.
>
> <>A deal was announced in October 2005 in which the system agreed to 
set
> aside $9 million for extra tutoring and programs for the needy 
children
> the $18 million was meant to serve. According to the terms of the
> agreement, the state needed to approve how the $9 million was spent 
over
> three years. Until now, only $2.7 million has been spent.
www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-te.ci.schools23jan23033219,0,3248
095.story
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