The quick peek at the closest test. The whispering of an answer to the kid in the front row. The reading of the crumpled cheat sheet when the teacher’s not looking. This is what usually comes to mind when one thinks of cheating in school.
Students cheat and of course this is a problem with obvious ethical implications. But what about teachers who cheat? This is not only ethically unsound but is also effectively leading to the country’s failing education system.
Two weeks ago, the Associated Press reported that teachers from Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee were paying other people to take their certification exams. These educators paid former teacher Clarence Mumford between $1,500 and $3,000 to hire “test ringers” who would pass the exam, known as the Praxis test, for them.
Unfortunately, this is not the only time such a scandal has occurred. In 2000, 52 teachers were charged with paying their way through teacher’s certification. Neal Kingston, director of the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation at the University of Kansas, offered a sobering reality check when he said that “the propensity to cheat on exams both through college and for licensure and certification exams seems to be increasing over time” and that ‘people often don’t see it as something wrong.’”
So what does this mean for the nation’s education system?
According to authorities handling the Mumford case, the cheating scheme, which was going on for at least 15 years, affected thousands of students who were taught by questionably competent teachers. These children came to school expecting to learn valuable material and instead were exposed to teachers who may not have comprehended the material that they were teaching. And we wonder why the United States is academically inferior to many other countries.
This incompetency can also foster a sense of contempt and unethical behavior in the classroom. If teachers can’t pass an exam then how should students be expected to? If teachers are allowed to cheat then why can’t students? If teachers are not confident in their own abilities then why should students respect their authority? Creating an environment that allows for cheating is like pouring water down the slippery slope towards educational decline.
Then there’s also the incompetence of the school district, which contributes further to the problem. While officials claim to be working towards fixing the broken system, it seems like not enough is being done. Though Mumford as well as 14 other people are being charged with fraud, three teachers involved in the scandal remain employed. The failure of schools to repudiate everyone involved after such heinous activity is simply astonishing.
The fact that teachers are falsely obtaining certificates is despicable, but this is just a piece of the bigger problem. The reverse discrimination caused by affirmative action, violence and drug use on school property, and faulty school curricula are all facets of the nation’s struggling school system. While ensuring that teachers are legitimately qualified may not completely solve the issue, it will surely be a big step in the right direction.
We are fortunate that Hillsdale provides us with teachers who are more than qualified to teach everything from Plato to the scientific method. Yet many schools do not have the same moral regard and commitment to higher education that Hillsdale does. Unless academic integrity is able to find its way back into America’s schools, this country’s education system will become beyond repair.