The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/education/11cheat.html?pagewanted=2&hpw) is reporting on the rising number of suspected cases of teacher-tampering in state-level standardized testing.  According to the article, this issue is wide-spread, affecting many states and levels of education.  As the importance of standardized testing continues to grow I believe that this problem will, too.

Many states are considering or implementing systems that tie teacher pay to student test scores.  Some are going so far as to connect teacher tenure or employment to test scores.  As the pressure to train the students to perform continues to rise, so does the sense of desperation in teachers.

While I do believe that a teacher’s pay ought to be directly connected to their ability to teach their students, I think it is foolish to make the assumption that standardized tests are the most reliable and accurate way to measure that ability.  Standardized tests are flawed and cannot possibly be used to determine every child’s progress.  I don’t say this to “cover” for those teachers who are cheating and lying to save themselves, but rather to point out an obvious flaw in the system…one that we happen to be putting a lot of stock into.