Freakonomics is best selling book written by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Both of these men are economists who study various cause and effect situations along with how the economy works. In this entry I will introduce a couple of their ideas that are abstract when first thought about, but then make complete sense when fully analyzed. In the past few years there have been a few scandals that involved teachers cheating for their students. This problem has been especially prevalent within the Chicago Public School system. One of the lessons that the authors teach the reader is that everybody responds to incentives, and that's why they act the way they do. Some people study extra hard to get an A in a class so they can get an iPod from their parents. Other people stop smoking cigarettes because the sin tax is going up. And some teachers cheat for their students to prevent themselves for going on probation. Everybody responds to incentives differently, and incentives are what keeps the economy going. High stakes standardized testing puts stress on everybody, but especially the teachers. If a good number of students do exceedingly well, then the teacher will be promoted. The contrary is also true though.
The issue is how to catch the cheating teacher. Some teachers have blatantly cheated by putting answers on the board. This was done by a fifth grade teacher in Oakland. Some teachers will give their students extra time to finish the test, and others will give the answers when a student asks. And the worst way is when a teacher changes the students answers after they are done with the test. The CPS did a study on classes that were suspected of cheating. They devised a formula and when a block of answers were all answered correctly for a class (or close to), cheating was a high possibility. The correct block of answers often came at the end of the test where the questions are harder. That proves that there was even a higher likelihood for cheating because the chance of sub par students getting those questions correct is quite low. In the end they found that 5% of the classrooms had either cheating students or teachers. The real loser in all of this cheating is the student. They are the loser because they and their parents will see the inflated test score and be happy. Then the next year their scores will return to the low level they are truly at. Here's an example: for each grade level a student is at, that's what level they should score at. So a fifth grader who is perfectly on par will score a 5.0. A student in fifth grade scores a 3.8, in 6th grade they score 7.1, and in 8th grade they went back to their old ways and scored a 5.6. This is a clear indication that in 6th grade they experienced cheating. I am really excited to continue to read the book and see what other great analysis' these authors can offer.
Hey Bennett! I have read Freakonomics and I agree that it is a very compelling exploration of economics in the real world. I actually read the book Sophomore year while I was taking AP Economics and it was amazing to me how the material I was learning related to what Levitt and Dubner were investigating. In the first paragraph of your entry you mention incentives. Incentives are a huge part of economics as they drive every decision-making process that occurs in the world. Therefore, it is very easy to see why teachers would cheat for their students. In order to increase their pay, get a promotion, or gain higher accolades teachers need to improve their class test scores. These incentives can obviously not be retracted as they are an integral part of the education system. Therefore, I think the main problem is the caliber of the teacher. Does the book explain where the majority of these teachers were located? Were there any similarities?
ReplyDeleteThe book only gave specific examples of teachers cheating. The authors only mention it happening in Chicago and Oakland, although I highly doubt those are the only two places it happens. Almost every action that we take as people is because we are trying to achieve something. Everyone's lives revolve around incentives.
ReplyDeleteWow. I had no idea there was this much cheating going on. I have never seen or heard of anything like this happening. Teachers should not be compelled to do this and it is pathetic that that they are doing this for the possibility of a promotion.
ReplyDeleteThe co-author of Freakanomics is the author of my book, Gang Leader for a Day!
No way dude...although my book makes references to Gang Leader so I knew there had to be some connection. The real losers are the students that they cheat for because they are being decieved.
ReplyDelete