pbs高端访谈:亚特兰大教育者普遍存在作弊行为

 　　GWEN IFILL:Now, an exhaustive new report reveals nearly 200 educators cheated to boost student test scores in Atlanta, a problem that has surfaced in school districts across the country.

　　The Georgia investigation¹ commissioned by Gov. Nathan Deal found, results were altered on state curriculum tests by district administrators², principals and teachers for as long as a decade. Educators literally³ erased⁴ and corrected students' mistakes to make sure schools met state-imposed testing standards. And it found evidence of cheating in 44 of the 56 schools examined for the 2009 school year.

　　The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been digging into these inconsistencies for more than two years. Reporter Heather Vogell joins me now.

　　Welcome, Heather.

　　So, tell me, how did all of this surface? You have been spending a lot of time reporting on this.

　　2.jpgHEATHER VOGELL,The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Yes.

　　We first wrote about some suspicious scores in at Atlanta school back in December of 2008. And we did an additional analysis in 2009. And the state started their investigation in 2009. So, this has been something that's been out there for a while. But I don't think any of us realized quite how pervasive⁵ the problem was.

　　GWEN IFILL:And the response before has been denial, when your stories first came out?

　　HEATHER VOGELL:Yes, denial.

　　Slowly, as time has gone by, we have gotten more admissions of, you know, some cheating here and there. There's an educator who—you know, do the wrong thing occasionally. And, as time has gone by and more and more has come out, there's been a little bit more concession⁶ that there is a more widespread problem.

　　But, even today, I'm not quite sure that we have gotten really a full—that there's been anybody who's admitted in the district administration that this was really an incredibly serious, serious problem.

　　GWEN IFILL:Well, you recount things like teachers or administrators, educators, putting on gloves so their fingerprints⁷ wouldn't be detected or cheating parties, where people would get together and change the results.

　　HEATHER VOGELL:Right. Exactly.

　　I mean, what was amazing to me in this report was how organized it was and how groups of people were getting together. This wasn't just something that was happening in the classroom or happening in a closet, or one person taking it upon themselves to do something sneaky because they were worried about a couple kids in their class who weren't going to do well.

　　This was organized. It was yearly in some schools, and it was an open secret in some schools.

　　GWEN IFILL:Was it pervasive? You found—or this report finds 178 educators, including -- including, I guess, three dozen principals involved.

　　HEATHER VOGELL:Right.

　　GWEN IFILL:In the size of the school—what is the size of the school system and how pervasive do these numbers indicate this has been?

　　HEATHER VOGELL:I think pretty pervasive.

　　I believe there are around 100 schools in Atlanta right now. And I think that about around 80 of them are elementary and middle. And those are the types of school that were examined by the investigators⁸.

　　GWEN IFILL:Did the investigators...

　　HEATHER VOGELL:They only looked at the elementary and middle level.

　　GWEN IFILL:Pardon me.

　　Did the investigators find out that this had an effect, manipulating school scores, I guess, that students who couldn't read end up getting promoted?

　　HEATHER VOGELL:Yes.

　　GWEN IFILL:Did it actually change the numbers of overall academic performance in the school system?

　　HEATHER VOGELL:It did change the numbers.

　　You know, the investigators say that, because of what they found, they believe that much of the progress that Atlanta has been touting⁹ over the last 10 years on these curriculum tests has been—I think their phrase was ill-gotten, that this—this could have actually had an impact on the overall district, their appearance of how they were doing.

　　And, for individual students, it certainly would have an effect on the trajectory¹⁰ of their education. Kids who fail the CRCT, which is our state curriculum test, they get extra help when they're flagged by failing. It's actually an important thing, to fail, if you're not ready—ready to meet the standards for your grade.

　　And when somebody changes your answers, and nobody knows that you're struggling as much as you are, you don't get the extra help.

　　GWEN IFILL:What are the—what are the pressures on educators to do this sort of thing? Is it a pressure that was brought by the school superintendent¹¹, brought by the state, or internal?

　　HEATHER VOGELL:I think that what really happened here was—I don't know that it's unique, because educators everywhere are under a lot of pressure in public schools now, and everybody knows that. And you have No Child Left Behind.

　　But there was sort of a culture that sort of brewed¹² within Atlanta public schools that was more intense and more dangerous, I think, than other places. And that was the—according to the investigators, that was some—that was a tone that was set by leadership.

　　They gave three key reasons why they believe that cheating flourished as much as it did in Atlanta. One was that the district set its own test score targets that were harder to meet than the ones that the state and federal government set. So, they were even higher.

　　Secondly¹³, there was a culture of retaliation¹⁴ and intimidation¹⁵ that really flourished within the hallways of the schools. Anybody who questioned the means or methods that schools were using to achieve certain gains was shunned¹⁶ if they were lucky, fired if they weren't lucky.

　　And, third, they also said that Dr. Hall, Dr. Beverly Hall, the superintendent, and her senior staff emphasized praise, success, performance and her image and the district image over the integrity of the tests, that they didn't emphasize honesty enough.

　　GWEN IFILL:She has just left this job. And there's now an acting¹⁷ superintendent in charge. Do we know that she personally knew and directed this kind of behavior?

　　HEATHER VOGELL:I think people are still trying to figure out exactly what she knew.

　　And the investigators, as close as they got to that, was to say that she knew or should have known. There are questions about whether she was in a meeting, for instance, where cheating was discussed, the results of an internal investigation.

　　And there's questions about whether she should, as—as an educator with—a veteran educator with a lot of experience, a lot of training and a lot of knowledge of data, she should have recognized the signs that these scores were not valid¹⁸.

　　GWEN IFILL:Is there prosecution¹⁹ possible in this? Have laws been broken?

　　HEATHER VOGELL:It's possible.

　　I can't say whether laws were broken or not. But there are three DA, district attorneys, that are looking at whether crimes were committed. In Georgia, it's a crime to lie to investigators, and it's also a crime to alter or destroy public documents.

　　And that is a statute²⁰ that was used—it's a felony—both of those are felonies—that was used to prosecute²¹ a principal in another district. I guess it was last year, I think, that he ended up being charged, and he pled guilty to changing answers, to changing the tests.

　　So those are potentially applicable statutes²². And the investigators did say people did provide them with false information.

　　GWEN IFILL:And this is something which is not unique to Georgia, you discovered, as well.

　　HEATHER VOGELL:Right. Yes. I mean, we seem to be hearing more and more about these sorts of problems cropping up around the country.

　　GWEN IFILL:Heather Vogell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, good work. Thank you so much.

　　HEATHER VOGELL:Thank you very much.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

6 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

7 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

10 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

11 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

12 brewed   

调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡）

参考例句：

• The beer is brewed in the Czech Republic. 这种啤酒是在捷克共和国酿造的。
• The boy brewed a cup of coffee for his mother. 这男孩给他妈妈冲了一杯咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

14 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

16 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

18 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

19 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

20 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

21 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

22 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法