Well if the EAW ain't beating up veterans for union dues or demanding pay raises in a recession, or feigning concern about the interests of their wards, then they're most assuredly not paying any attention to the ethical dilemma of their membership. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do... doesn't cut it in any school system. Accountability must be paramount in the Worcester Public School system and more so in the EAW Worcester (Worcester's teachers union). But don't hold your breath waiting for them to do anything about it - too busy whining about other things. Ethics is secondary.
I'm curious how the cheating was discovered. In the wake of the developing Goddard School cheating scandal, I recall a book I read: Freakonomics. Interesting parallel here: What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?
Wikipedia: The authors define the study of economics as the study of incentives. How do we profit by the things that we do? And what incentives are so attractive that they compel us to act unethically in order to attain them?
Levitt describes the series of research processes that he used to identify a number of Chicago public school teachers who cheated or helped their students cheat on standardized tests. He analyzed standardized test answer patterns and identified suspicious blocks of correct answers, also comparing test scores to students’ past academic performance.
Eventually, a controlled retest was administered to identify cheating teachers with greater precision. The findings resulted in the termination of the boldest offenders, as well as reforms in the school system’s standardized testing procedures.
