It may not amount to cheating, but state testing officials concede the differences could skew the results. A few schools test everyone, and they feel like those that don't test everyone are getting away with something. That philosophy of testing all students may have played a role in the banishment of Valle Vista Elementary School to the state's education basement. It's a life skill. It gives us a certain set of information on kids.
Every principal has the prerogative as to how best to run their schools.
But my opinion is it gives a false picture of who we are if we exclude kids. Teachers union president Ellen Bernstein said Albuquerque is not yet at the point where she anticipates cheating. She said as long as educators aren't fired or lose pay because of test scores, the likelihood of cheating is remote. But Bernstein said more important dangers exist now in the way some educators feel forced to focus to classroom time too narrowly to prepare for items that only appear on tests. They feel if it's not on the test, it's not taught in class.