Responding Intelligently To The Cheating Scandals

Pre-K – 12 education in the United States is under attack from many fronts.  Budgets are being cut across the nation.  Teacher turnover and teacher cutbacks are on the rise.  Class sizes are getting larger. Standardized tests are changing the way we teach and the way we pay teachers.  And now, our school systems are being attacked from within with the largest ethical scandals ever witnessed in our nation’s education history.  Up to a dozen school districts are now under investigation for changing test scores and cheating.  Schools in Alabama and in other states have stopped giving homework because cheating by students is so pervasive on homework and teachers say they do not have time to grade the homework and give feedback to students.

USA Today and other major newspapers have run editorials on the subject of cheating on standardized test scores.  Some have blamed the new emphasis on standardized test scores as the “cause” of the cheating. Some have defended this new emphasis on test scores as the only way to hold schools accountable.  These editorials fall into the deflect and defend categories and simply do not address the current situation.

We know how to respond intelligently to the cheating that seems to be pervasive across the United States in Prek-12 education.  This is a problem of ethical leadership and we need to address it with a significant change in the organizational structure of each and every school district in the United States. Ethical lapses are not new to business, to government or to education.

In order to address the issue of cheating on standardized tests and ethical lapses, the first major response of every school district, whether it is currently embroiled in a cheating scandal or investigation or not, should be to create a new, powerful position called The Chief Ethics Officer. This office would have strong investigatory powers, an independent budget to pursue all claims of cheating, and have a hotline where anyone could report ethical lapses in a school district without fear of retaliation.  This Chief Ethics Officer would report to the School Superintendant but would have a set contract and not serve as the pleasure of the School Superintendent.  This officer would have sufficient staff to conduct investigations, hold hearings under oath, have subpoena power for all school records, and have the authority to refer any ethical lapse that rises to criminal conduct to the FBI or other criminal justice agencies.

As the Chief Ethics Officer role grows in education, then we will have true accountability in schools.  The Chief Ethics Officer would set policy, have the power to recommend rescinding teacher certifications, have the authority to recommend the firing of administrators and teachers who are involved in cheating, and the jurisdiction of the Chief Ethics Officer would extend to students who cheat or commit ethical lapses that require a significant response.

Over time, school districts of significant size, should develop an Office Of Inspector General, to handle the heavy workload, set administrative policies, and implement the rigorous work of eliminating corruption, cheating and improving the ethical foundation of our public educational systems.  In addition, private and religious schools in the Prek-12 arena should also consider instituting the reforms outlined above.

Reforming education can never succeed unless and until we schools and school districts get their ethical house in order.  It is clear that cheating and unethical behavior are at an epidemic level in the United States and problems of that magnitude need a swift and lasting organizational response.

There is much at stake.  The intersection of our educational systems and our criminal justice system is the result of failures of ethical leadership and the failure of school districts to have the proper organizational structure to fend off and deal effectively with these ethical lapses.  The Chief Ethics Officer in each school district will be able to create the ethical culture in our schools which is necessary for their future success.  The Office of Inspector General for each large school district is essential to serve as the force that roots out cheating and unethical behavior in our schools.

The time is now for these institutional changes to take place.  The reputation of our schools and their very ability to produce the educational gains we need as a society are now at risk.  This is a risk our nation cannot afford and even with budget cuts to education, spending the money on these new positions and these new offices represent a necessary strategic imperative for  our schools.

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