Cooking the Books -- Public School Style...

[flacaltenn]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Excellent question. One could also transpose the monikers, "free market capitalists" and "Public Service Employees" and still have asked an excellent question.

Dave

That was the whole point of picking this topic.. I've actually given a list of all the motivators that prevent profit and selfish motives from dominating private enterprise. But here are some again..

1) Public Relations.
2) Competition for market share.
3) Customer Confidence
4) Liability and litigation by customers, suppliers, and innocent bystanders
5) Stakeholder Interests and direction.
6) Contractual obligations.

Think you can get a REFUND from the Atlanta school system?
Think they care about competition?
Think the stakeholders can actually dictate the punishment for the guilty?
Think there any contract that will cost them funding because they fudged the scores?

There MAY be lawsuits but they will have to brought by politicized entities in the govt that are favorable to the established school interests.

Meanwhile the kids are doomed. Because it's NOT the silly wimpy proficiency tests that are the problem. The problem is that the curricula doesn't emphasize INDIVIDUAL competence of any kind. The public schools have long shifted from INDIVIDUAL performance to group and communal performance.

I can't tell you how many times my daughter claimed she couldn't do her homework because it was a GROUP assignment. Almost EVERY project involves several students partitioning the work amongst them. Because my daughter has some artistic talent -- she was always picked to be the illustrator. NEVER saw her doing any research and rarely contributed to the written or calculated report. Makes it easier on the teachers to grade. Teaches that valuable socialist village mentality. What's not to like? That was until we moved to Tenn. Still saw it -- but it wasn't the exclusive methodology.

No wonder they have to teach to the test.. The INDIVIDUAL student gets to float thru otherwise...