Teacher cheating on standardized tests is a recurring theme in recent national headlines, ranging from teachers looking at tests in advance to develop study guides, to teachers and administrators erasing and correcting student answers after they have submitted tests. The media and the school communities have responded to these stories with shock and out-rage, often vilifying individual teachers and administrators.
In this piece, we examine the factors that contribute to teacher cheating and provide insights from a System Thinker’s perspective.