<p>Focus</a> on test scores may be pushing some teachers to cheat - latimes.com</p>
<p>I hate how standardized testing has taken over our public school's curriculum. Now it looks like teachers are often evaluated based on student test results. Does anyone else thing this is unfair? </p>
<p>I remember when I was a kid that some teachers would "help out" more with tests than others. I think that has always been the case, and in those days there really were no consequences as far as their jobs were concerned. If their job is on the line, however, I can really see how this "help" would escalate, as it would be so easy and mostly undetectable. Teachers are people, and only as honest as the rest of the population- so what would one expect?</p>
<p>We need to know how our kids are really doing. I don't like the idea of teachers' jobs being in any way linked to their kids' state test scores. It puts an unreasonable pressure on the teachers, and there is so much more going on with kids than what takes place in the classroom. The whole premise seems unfair to me. </p>
<p>I will say that stopping whatever cheating goes on would be fairly simple, imo. If the teachers rotate out of their own classrooms and administer tests to students that aren't their own, they wouldn't be tempted to give any input. Have them collected at the end by an impartial administrator. I think it will come to that. I feel badly for the teachers, though. It's one more attack on their competence and character that they really don't need.</p>