IT PAYS TO CHEAT

All of the newspapers are chock full of stories on the state-wide rise in math and reading scores. Klein and Bloomberg are patting themselves on the back for a job well done. This is proof positive that you cannot disput for continuing mayoral control over schools. Never mind that the exams have been dumbed down! The more accurate Federal tests showed no reading and math gains whatsover.
What follows is a copy of a letter to the editor I sent to The New York Times regarding the primary reason for this alleged success story.

To the editor:
"Scores in Reading and Math Rise Sharply Across The State" (front page, June 24). How much of the apparent gains in reading and math test scores are due to cheating by teachers and administrators? Teachers in many NYC schools earn merit pay bonuses of several thousand dollars if scores increase. Principals and administrators are awarded bonuses of as much as $15,000 if school letter grades and ratings go up due to improved exam scores.
Since the tests are marked in the schools by the very teachers and administrators who will profit handsomely from higher grades, the tendency to fudge and inflate the scores is ever present. Principals also employ scare tactics to intimidate staff members, such as proclaiming the impending closure of schools with unacceptable scores. Teachers can also help secure tenure by falsifying reading scores. Pedagogues are often placed in a quagmire where the choices are between maintaining one's integrity or one's job.
Robert Grandt
Teacher of Library
Brooklyn Technical High School