Let me say this right off the bat – I don’t approve of cheating. It is unethical and lacks integrity for teachers to cheat. But let’s not let that discount the likely reasons behind their dishonesty.
It’s called the NAPLAN – Australia’s version of the infamous national test. And as the recent case in South Australia highlights, it can bring out the worst in some teachers:
A PRIMARY school teacher has been sacked and another reprimanded for cheating in national tests.
A former St Leonards Year 7 teacher was stood down following an investigation by the Education Department into her administration of the NAPLAN tests in May last year.
Correne Woolmer, who joined the Glenelg school at the beginning of 2010, admitted changing answers on a student’s test.
Ms Woolmer isn’t the only teacher to get caught, and she certainly isn’t the only teacher to cheat on the test. I’m sure many more teachers have gotten away with doing the same thing.
The NAPLAN test like other National tests around the globe have an important function. Their job is to give information to parents about their childs’ progress, which includes a comparison against all others taking the test in that age group.
But what it also does is set up the teacher. The teacher carries the blame for the results. It is the teacher that is the first port of call when parents seek an explanation – it is the teacher that is labelled as insufficient when the school analyses the data.
Such pressures lead teachers to teach for the test rather than the typical authentic adherence to the curriculum. This is not the way teachers are supposed to teach. It also puts more pressure on teachers. Teachers are already under significant strain. We must be mindful that this system puts them in a situation where their performance is scrutinised like never before. And finally, a test is just a guide. It is not a perfect form of assessment. Many factors can cloud and effect the conclusions made by the data such as student anxiety, outliers etc.
Cheating is wrong, and teachers that cheat deserve to be punished. But somehow I feel that by administering national tests, teachers are getting punished regardless.
Topical Teaching 