IGX

It was a brazen and surprisingly long-lived scheme, authorities said, to help aspiring public school teachers cheat on the tests they must pass to prove they are qualified to lead their classrooms. For 15 years, teachers in three Southern states paid Clarence Mumford Sr. -- himself a longtime educator -- to send someone else to take the tests in their place, authorities said. Each time, Mumford received a fee of between $1,500 and $3,000 to send one of his test ringers with fake identification to the Praxis exam. In return, his customers got a passing grade and began their careers as cheaters, according to federal prosecutors in Memphis. Authorities say the scheme affected hundreds -- if not thousands -- of public school students who ended up being taught by unqualified instructors.

But at least three teachers implicated in the scandal remain employed with their school district

Nina Monfredo, a 23-year-old history teacher at Power Center Academy in Memphis, has taken Praxis exams for history, geography, middle school content, and secondary teaching and learning. Monfredo, who passed all her tests and is not involved in the fraud case, said the exams she took were relatively easy for someone who has a high school education. She said some people use study aids to prepare, but she didn't.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/25/te ... -feds-say/

Interesting that the article makes no correlation between teacher qualification and student performance.

Turdacious wrote:

It was a brazen and surprisingly long-lived scheme, authorities said, to help aspiring public school teachers cheat on the tests they must pass to prove they are qualified to lead their classrooms. For 15 years, teachers in three Southern states paid Clarence Mumford Sr. -- himself a longtime educator -- to send someone else to take the tests in their place, authorities said. Each time, Mumford received a fee of between $1,500 and $3,000 to send one of his test ringers with fake identification to the Praxis exam. In return, his customers got a passing grade and began their careers as cheaters, according to federal prosecutors in Memphis. Authorities say the scheme affected hundreds -- if not thousands -- of public school students who ended up being taught by unqualified instructors.

But at least three teachers implicated in the scandal remain employed with their school district

Nina Monfredo, a 23-year-old history teacher at Power Center Academy in Memphis, has taken Praxis exams for history, geography, middle school content, and secondary teaching and learning. Monfredo, who passed all her tests and is not involved in the fraud case, said the exams she took were relatively easy for someone who has a high school education. She said some people use study aids to prepare, but she didn't.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/25/te ... -feds-say/

Interesting that the article makes no correlation between teacher qualification and student performance.

I had friends who failed, repeatedly, different parts of the Praxis. When I interviewed and schools saw that I had already passed, they were much more interested. Oddly, people lost interest when they saw my scores and grades. I was told many times that I was too smart to teach, that I couldn't relate to the average student. I also had friends who were told to wait to take the Praxis because you could get hired without them and take them while working (you had three years at the time to pass them once hired), but you could not get hired with a failing score.

I dig big chicks wrote: I was told many times that I was too smart to teach

That is horrifying.

From Bukowski's Ham on Rye...

"Then the sound began: 'Thump, thump, thump, thump...'

Richard Waite. He sat in a seat in the back. He had huge ears and thick lips, the lips were swollen and monstrous and he had a very large head. His eyes were almost without color, they didn't reflect interest or intelligence. He had large feet and his mouth always hung open. When he spoke the words came out one by one, halting, with long pauses in between. He wasn't even a sissy. Nobody ever spoke to him. Nobody knew what he was doing there in our school. he gave the impression that something important was missing from his makeup. He wore clean clothing, but his shirt was always out in the back, one or two buttons were gone on his shirt or on his pants. Richard Waite. He lived somewhere and he came to school every day.

'Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump...'

Richard Waite was jerking off, a salute to Miss Gredis' thighs and legs. He had finally weakened. Perhaps he didn't understand society's ways. Now we all heard him. Miss Gredis heard him. The girls heard him. We all knew what he was doing. He was so fucking dumb he didn't even have sense enough to keep it quiet. And he was become more and more exited. The thumps grew louder. His closed fist was hitting the underside of his desk top.

'THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...'"

Jezzy Bell wrote:

I dig big chicks wrote: I was told many times that I was too smart to teach

That is horrifying.

But not the least bit surprising, considering some of the teachers I know.

This kind of stuff has happened for as long as there have been standardized tests.

Three issues with the article:

- if the scandal has been happening over 15 years, more than "hundreds if not thousands" of students have been taught by somebody who cheated.
- I assume that they are talking about Praxis II. Praxis III, which is what teachers need to keep teaching, involves observed lessons and face-to-face interviews, which would be nearly impossible to hire somebody to stand in for.
- They are going to toss these people in prison for 20 years per offense? If they had slept with their students, they wouldn't get that much. What kind of punishment is that? Sentence them to 3-5 years teaching in impoverished communities

Terry B. wrote:They are going to toss these people in prison for 20 years per offense? If they had slept with their students, they wouldn't get that much.

These people might have done more harm than the average teacher who sleeps with students.

Terry B. wrote:This kind of stuff has happened for as long as there have been standardized tests.

Three issues with the article:

- if the scandal has been happening over 15 years, more than "hundreds if not thousands" of students have been taught by somebody who cheated.

There's no Praxis test to be a journalist, that is clearly.