Cheatin'

Round 1 in the ongoing battle involving funding vs. evaluation is Governor Cuomo's faceslap over Buffalo's side deal with teachers, which apparently went something like this: "If you unions sign off on this APPR plan, we'll send the paperwork to the state but toss our copies in the trash." The comments are interesting, too.

Why is it that the stress of evaluation seems to lead to cheating, whether it's teachers and administrators changing test answers in GA or entire school districts in NYS making secret deals with one hand while taking the cash with the other? O's not even allowed to take a water bottle into the SATs lest she inscribe formulas under the label. Maybe we should start by evaluating the culture that has led to this cheatin' state of mind.