We have no idea why Beach Court Elementary principal Frank Roti allegedly altered CSAP test results, not only losing his job and potentially facing criminal charges, but embarrassing a school that was a glittering apple in the eye of Denver Public Schools.
It may have been the oldest inspiration for malfeasance in the book — money.
In recent years, Roti pulled in substantial bonuses based on the ostensibly remarkable performance of a school that DPS showcased as an shining example of a traditional neighborhood school dramatically beating the odds with lofty test scores.
It may also have been ego, a drive to win at any cost, a desire to reach the top.
What motivated an honored and respected educator to apparently spend hours upon hours erasing erroneous pencil remarks on untold numbers of tests and replacing them with correct ones? We cannot know for sure. What we do know is how incredibly destructive Roti’s actions are, and we’re not talking about his own shattered reputation.
It’s heartbreaking to see Beach Court students and their parents refusing to believe the charges against their principal. This is a man who encouraged them to excel in their studies, who praised them for their achievements, who gave them hope.
To take all that way from them, in the unwelcome knowledge that many of those achievements were false, is the worst violation of trust. It is profoundly cruel to enhance a person’s self-esteem, to inflame hopes, only to snatch it all away, especially from the vulnerable mind and heart of a child.
It gets worse. What is the message sent by Frank Roti? That cheating is a higher objective than hard work? That the system can, and should, be gamed for one’s personal gain? That dishonesty trumps honesty? That, ultimately, true education is less important than scores?
No less damaging is the systemic confusion that Roti’s cheating has generated. The altered tests have invariably skewed the district’s self-analysis on student progress. The tests have made it impossible for the teachers and students at Beach Court to know how well, or poorly, they fared during the period covered by the testing.
Students and teachers who once took pride in their scholastic achievements now have no idea whether they excelled or failed. How frustrating and discouraging this must be to an elementary student who is striving to learn, and to an elementary teacher who is trying to educate.
The discussion is not really linked to the always energetic educational debate about the relative value and importance of standardized testing itself.
Nor is this really a discussion about the school district.
Denver Public Schools might be guilty of gullibility, one supposes, for letting Roti get away with cheating for as long as he did, but on the other hand it was the district, aided by the state Dept. of Education and Attorney General’s Office, that uncovered the cheating to begin with.
DPS might consider several reforms to deter such cheating in the future. DPS might, for example, make it more difficult for anyone to tamper with test forms, and might reconsider whether it’s wise to tie school performance to financial rewards.
The salient message at the heart of this educational mess is about the sacred trust that children and parents — indeed, the entire community — put into the hands of educators.
Those who are called upon to educate our young are a vital component of our civilization. Like physicians, politicians, attorneys, clergymen, journalists, EMTs and others, educators are expected to meet a higher standard of honesty, fairness and competence In return for their pledge to honor that standard, we extend them our trust.
When that trust is violated, as it was at Beach Court, we see with painful clarity why it’s so important that it be honored.
Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News
