As a country, we are relying too heavily on standardized test scores. The proof is in the recent indictment of several Atlanta teachers.

Thirty-five teachers were charged with racketeering. The teachers were charged with changing students’ answers on standardized tests. They tried to improve the scoring in order to reap the benefits higher test scores bring to their school districts and careers, according to Fulton County prosecutor Paul Howard.

The teachers were caught when an unusually high number of erasures were found on test forms. Some principals are thought to have forced teachers to have erasure “parties,” according to reports from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The teachers have been accused of taking completed tests and changing answers together. School district scores rose dramatically when the score alterations were taking place.

No doubt, the teachers in Atlanta are mainly to blame. Their cheating is not justified anymore than a student cheating on a test. Their behavior needs some explanation. But part of the issue is the importance we as a nation stress on standardized tests. The teachers had a strong incentive to correct the tests in order for the school district to receive more funding, and often an increase in salary.

As a part of the No Child Left Behind Act, school district officials are required to evaluate teachers based on test scores. This is designed to ensure all children are given the same basic material.

The law also offers cash incentives that make teachers want to raise their students’ test scores. Rather than try and teach children in different ways, the Atlanta teachers decided to modify the tests. Ideally, the law should encourage teachers to work harder and improve their teaching methods. But this is not the case.

It’s not only teachers who are affected by the tests, but children, too. Throughout the country, parents are deciding to opt out of the choice to let their children take these exams. In Long Island, a group of parents is telling school officials the tests are making their children upset because questions are too difficult and too much time is being spent on the test in the classroom, WCBS reported.

Groups of parents and teachers were in Washington, D.C., last week to boycott standardized tests in an event called “Occupy the Department of Education.”

New York State Department of Education Associate Commissioner Ken Wagner said, “Parents who keep their children from taking these tests are essentially saying, ‘I don’t want to know where my child stands, in objective terms, on the path to college and career readiness.’”

Those in the New York’s Department of Education and others argue that by not having a standard to which to teach or test is problematic. We might not know if teachers are doing a good job or if some students are lacking the skills they need to succeed in life. By getting rid of standardized tests, children could be coddled or given an easier time. Critics fear children could be shielded from competitiveness.

At the same time, by overemphasizing the importance of the test, teachers might become less focused on students’ learning. The tests require teachers spend time, “teaching for the test.” In other words, teachers try and teach students in a way that helps them pass the test. This could mean spending time on material that would ordinarily not need to be covered.

We can all agree there must be standards in our education system. Students need to demonstrate an understanding of material while teachers should be held accountable for their own performances. The case in Atlanta demonstrates this.

Getting rid of standardized tests is not likely to happen. As a country, we have placed a great deal of emphasis on their importance and have invested a great deal in creating them. Yet we need a better way of measuring genuine student learning while keeping standards high. Right now, it seems like neither is being done.

Harmen Rockler is a senior newspaper and online journalism and political science major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at horockle@syr.edu or followed on Twitter at @LeftofBoston.

Published on April 9, 2013 at 1:49 am