Bronx high school changed grades to graduate more students

[tonysam]

One of the city's so-called superprincipals - who earn up to $50,000 in bonus money for turning around failing schools - may have landed in trouble.

Janet Saraceno, who accepted an assignment in 2008 to lead the Bronx's Lehman High School as part of the program to lure principals to difficult assignments, is under investigation for tampering with grades, city Education Department officials said on Wednesday.

"We've been investigating the charges," said Education Department spokesman David Cantor. "When we have findings, we'll report them and take action."

Much more


I would read both articles. This kind of thing is rampant in public schools; usually, however, it is principals who "ask"--coerce--teachers to change grades or otherwise cheat or these teachers face retaliation and ultimately dismissal.

[wavesofeuphoria]

1. Where is the article about this being "rampant" in public schools? nt

[CC]

2. Not sure there is an article about it

being rampant, but do know it is. The worse the school the more the chance of cheating for dollars. Part of it is that the worse the school the more they need the cash just to maintain. Either way it is the kids that lose the most.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. I can assure you it is quite common.

I work in the same system; 5 minute walk from the school in OP.

I don't need a newspaper article to know that it's rampant. How common it is outside of NYC I can only guess, but it seems logical to conclude that if it isn't common now it will be common shortly.

If bonuses and school funding are going to be scaled to standardized test scores, you don't think that principals... and by extension many teachers.... are going to be pressured to, shall we say, *inflate* their scores?

Come on.

( Incidently, the principal that Sarceno replaced at Lehman HS was replaced amidst an ethical cloud ---- in plain English, he was a crook--- two years ago. Does it not *sound* as though cheating and corruption are "rampant"?)

And they call it "reform".

[tonysam]

4. It IS very common in public schools

Principals routinely pressure teachers to change grades, and, if they don't do it, face retaliation.

I hate to burst your bubble about it. Public school principals are not always paragons of integrity.

[tonysam]

5. Principals also try to pressure teachers to cheat in other ways

Yours truly was under pressure by one such unscrupulous principal who wanted me to put all of my "life skills" students on alternate testing, this despite the fact their eligibility code--their disability--didn't qualify them to take alternate testing. He was afraid those students who were required to take the regular standardized test scores would pull the entire schoolwide test scores down. He wanted me to cheat, in other words. I got into one hell of a row with him, and this guy was not even allowed to APPROACH me to violate federal law (NCLB), but do you think my "union" would suggest I needed an attorney to sue the district in federal court because he violated my rights? Not on your life. It wasn't until much later, after the statute of limitations ran out on filing a civil rights lawsuit, was it brought to my attention his malfeasance WAS a federal violation.

I may have won the short term battle with this principal--he backed down and we tested the kids appropriately--but in the end, he retaliated, I demanded to be moved to another school, and when I supposedly got out of "line" for making a mistake on an FMLA form, was shittcanned--illegally--by yet another principal under orders from the H.R. superintendent.

Crooks abound in public school districts; the culture almost encourages criminality because these entities are supported by the taxpayers and there is no real accountability.

[tonysam]

6. Kick for this outrage n/t