Way out of this mess
Great job AJC on the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal. Awesome investigative reporting. All in vain. The fact that the very parents of these kids did not even recognize that the poor doomed souls were not being educated says it all. Atlanta as a city is pretty much done. The only question now about Atlanta as a viable city is how fast and how hard it will fall.
I say and write this in anger, hoping that I do not actually believe it and that the AJC will now do an equally helpful piece on a way out of this mess. What are these kids going to do after “graduating” Atlanta schools? Use your imagination. Time is of the essence.
Geoff Knafou, Hog Mountain
Where was state DOE?
As a retired educator who had responsibility for testing in the program that I formerly directed, I’ve watched with increasing amazement the unfolding of the APS cheating scandal. It is beyond my belief that such a clear violation of both rules and ethics involving so many people could be kept quiet for so long.
The piece I’ve not seen discussed is the involvement of the state Department of Education. Where were they and what were they doing? As a test coordinator, I sat through hours of training in test security and received countless letters from the DOE outlining procedures and dire consequences for failure to adhere to them. Once, when we inadvertently committed a minor violation of test security, I dutifully reported it to the DOE the day it was discovered and was subjected to a 30-minute tirade about how my teaching certificate could be revoked.
Then I was commanded to reprimand everyone involved and to write a letter giving all of the details and what steps would be taken to assure that it never happened again. All of this for a self-reported accidental incident involving less than five student test booklets, none of which was believed to have been compromised in any way.
I have begun to wonder, was the DOE focusing its training and enforcement only on those of us far from Atlanta? Did APS receive the same training as those of us closer to Tallahassee?
Ina Woodruff, Tifton
Far too much testing
The APS cheating/testing scandal should raise some serious questions for all of us. Why do we test children in the first place? What kinds of tests are we using? Are these tests valid indicators of what our children are learning? Who are the test makers? As an educator and parent myself, I am disturbed by the amount of testing that goes on in schools these days. I have taught children at all skill and ability levels and all of them could read, write and do basic mathematics unless they had been identified as learning disabled or in need of special education. So, if that is the case, why are so many of our children failing or making poor scores on these tests?
I do not condone cheating, but it is time we take a hard look at the amount, validity and kinds of tests our children are required to take.
Carol Wall, Atlanta
Cheaters ought to pay
If the state is required to pay implicated teachers salaries and benefits until their innocence or guilt is proved, will those who are found guilty be required to pay all of it back as well as the court costs involved? And the bonuses they received? Also, are the teachers who chose to retire instead of being investigated receiving all their salaries and benefits?
If so, that means we as taxpayers are possibly rewarding teachers year after year even though they could be convicted of wrongdoing. Georgia needs to take a serious look at teacher contracts and make them more realistic like private sector businesses without unions. Georgia is a right-to-work state. Unions are not needed.
Catherine King, Alpharetta
