Cheating In Georgia Schools Puts Focus On Atlanta

今日の学校からの帰り，田邉先生の車の中のラジオで流れていたニュースです。アメリカGeorgia州アトランタで，テスト点数の改ざん疑惑が浮上。保護者および関係者は事態の早期解明を願っています。
Cheating In Georgia Schools Puts Focus On Atlanta
In Georgia, state standardized tests that students took last year showed an unusually high number of eraser marks. As many as 250,000 incorrect answers were changed to make them correct. Parents and state officials are still trying to figure out what happened.

The Georgia school district with the most problems was Atlanta Public Schools. School officials appointed what they called a "blue ribbon commission" to investigate, and it found no coordinated effort to manipulate the scores -- a conclusion accepted by Superintendent Beverly Hall.

But Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue called that investigation "woefully inadequate," and he has launched his own inquiry, which he says will be "both thorough and swift."

More than 50 schools in Atlanta were flagged for cheating, but the district chose to investigate only a dozen. And many critics, including the governor, complained that officials did not question enough teachers and administrators to find out who was responsible.

"This is about seeking out a small group of people who have failed to hold up the high ideals that most Georgia teachers live by. And what has happened here has stunted the growing and learning process for thousands of children," Perdue says.

A Culture Of Cheating?

The tests are given to children in grades 1-8. The results determine whether schools meet federal benchmarks under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Good scores mean high praise and cash bonuses. Failure to meet standards could mean losing hundreds of thousands in federal dollars, and could cost teachers and administrators their jobs.

A mother of four, Shawnna Hayes-Tavares has two children who go to schools that were called into question.

"What is happening? Are our teachers cheating? Is the administration cheating? Have we created a cheating culture? You know, it's so many things to think about as a parent," Hayes-Tavares says.

According to Hayes-Tavares, her own children knew there was a problem, telling her that it was common for teachers to give students test answers.

Most of the problem schools are located in poor Atlanta neighborhoods and qualify for extra federal funding, including free or reduced student lunches.

A Painful Chapter

The district says there was no evidence of a coordinated effort to tamper with the tests, but many here don't buy the claim.
http://www.gpb.org/news/2010/10/12/cheating-in-georgia-schools-puts-focus-on-atlanta
太字のbuyは「〈意見などを〉受け入れる(accept)；信じる」の意（『プログレッシブ英和中辞典』小学館）。We bought his argument.（彼の論を受け入れた）やI'll buy that.（信じるよ, よしわかった）などのように用います。（院生 小山本）