x
Breaking News
More () »

Local educator says teachers are pressured to improve test scores

One local superintendent says the pressure felt from federal mandates may be too much for educators to handle.

The investigation continues into Davenport elementary school accused of changing test answers to improve student scores.  The reason for the possible cheating at Madison Elementary has not been determined; one local superintendent says the pressure felt from federal mandates may be too much for educators to handle.

We spoke to the Carbon Cliff/Barstow District Superintendent, Andy Richmond who says through he doesn’t condone the alleged cheating, he understands why a teacher may do it.  He blames federal mandates in regards to standardize testing for the added pressure those teachers and administrators might feel.  He says the current "one size fits all” method doesn’t work.

“It’s like trying to take a square peg and trying to fit it into a round hole,” Richmond says. “It just doesn’t fit everybody.  When you are tying performance, budget money, and grant money in to how your students are performing, there is a lot of pressure there.”

Eagle Ridge School teacher and Union President, Val Schneider agrees.

“The standards that the students have to be held to right now are extremely high.”

She says she thinks the standardize testing doesn’t truly assess student growth and shouldn’t dictate a teachers evaluation.

“We need to look at them in every single area to see if they are growing individually and not just answering a,b,c or d questions,” Schneider says.

Before You Leave, Check This Out