Bad Apples or Bad Orchards? An Organizational Analysis of Educator Cheating on Standardized Accountability Tests

Autor/inn/en	Hibel, Jacob; Penn, Daphne M.
Titel	Bad Apples or Bad Orchards? An Organizational Analysis of Educator Cheating on Standardized Accountability Tests
Quelle	In: Sociology of Education, 93 (2020) 4, S.331-352 (22 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Hibel, Jacob)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0038-0407
DOI	10.1177/0038040720927234
Schlagwörter	Organizational Culture; Cheating; Standardized Tests; Accountability; Elementary Schools; Organizational Theories; Decision Making; Administrative Organization; Educational Administration; Superintendents; Principals; Motivation; Fear; Georgia; Georgia Criterion Referenced Tests + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Unternehmenskultur; Prellen; Standadised tests; Standardisierter Test; Verantwortung; Elementary school; Grundschule; Volksschule; Organisationstheorie; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Bildungsverwaltung; Schuladministration; Schulverwaltung; Schulrat; Principal; Schulleiter; psychologische; Motivation (psychologisch); Furcht
Abstract	Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, we analyze quantitative administrative and survey data and qualitative archival data to examine the organizational character of standardized test cheating among educators in Georgia elementary schools. Applying a theoretical typology that identifies distinct forms of rule breaking in bureaucratic organizations, we find that teacher-focused, individual-level explanations for cheating are inadequate, particularly in the context of large-scale cheating outbreaks. Our findings suggest cheating scandals tend to arise when rule-breaking decisions shift toward higher levels of the educational bureaucracy, and school and district leaders enact multiple strategies to motivate coordinated cheating efforts among lower-level educators. In these scenarios, a "bad apples" explanation focused on rogue teachers fails to account for the systematic organizational underpinnings of standardized test cheating. We describe the institutional and organizational predictors of organized adult cheating on standardized tests, and we conclude with a discussion of our findings' implications for education policy and research. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01