The Fear of Failure: The Atlanta Cheating Scandal

            The recent findings of widespread cheating and the falsification of scores on standardized tests by principals and teachers of the Atlanta Public School District, has brought to fruition a nightmarish situation legislators and educators hoped would not happen.

            When the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation was enacted in 2001, its proponents hailed its reliance on standardized test scores and benchmarks to objectively determine specific districts and schools that are failing to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  NCLB was supposed to instill a system of standards and accountability for states to monitor their districts and provide support to districts struggling to meet their AYP targets.  NCLB also had severe consequences for districts with schools who failed to meet AYP.  This is where the opponents and critics of NCLB had expressed concern.

            Opponents of NCLB argue that defining success on the basis of test scores does equate to student knowledge or intelligence.  Standardized test and benchmark scores only reflect a point in time on the learning continuum.  Opponents further argue the legislation is unfair to base accountability on test scores alone.  NCLB does not take into account extraneous variables that may cause poor scores.  NCLB does not consider students who are poor test takers, students who have test anxiety or students who are in treatment for mental or behavioral health crisis.  NCLB does not take into consideration students who are below their grade level, but they are improving.  NCLB is only concerned about students meeting a prescribed score on a standardized test.

            Basing a districts and a schools success on how well students answer correctly on a standardized test, led districts and teachers to believe the federal government does not care about actual learning, it cared about test scores.  This belief combined with the punitive measures placed on districts and schools have led to the unfortunate events that have occurred in the Atlanta Public School District and possibly in other districts across the country.

            NCLB created a culture of fear among some superintendents, principals, and teachers.  The fear of staff transfers, staff terminations, and school closings, has led to focusing instruction for the sole purpose of students passing the standardized tests and schools making AYP.  This fear has not only stunted student learning, it promoted students who should not have been promoted, and has made a mockery of education.  In the end, NCLB became more about adults wanting to keep their jobs at the expense of the students.

            Unfortunately, the cheating scandal in Atlanta may not be an isolated incident.  Currently, there are a number of state and federal investigations occurring across the country to determine how far the NCLB culture of fear has spread.  What the country should be worried about is the long term impact this will have on the innocent students affected by the cheating scandal.