Analysis: Most Districts' Cheating Investigations Lack Vigor

An analysis in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (9/24, Judd) describes the "haphazard manner in which many states and school districts handle reports of cheating on high-stakes achievement tests," noting that "officials often minimize such allegations, treating them as mere aberrations: one-time occurrences best dealt with in isolation. ... In some cases, investigations uncovered wrongdoing and led to punishment for a handful of educators." However, "nearly always, officials focused narrowly on a single classroom or, at most, a single school - the approach the Atlanta Public Schools used for years before a scandal over systemic cheating erupted three years ago."