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Teachers Gaming the System: Exploring Opportunistic Behaviours in a Low-Stakes Accountability System

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Title: Teachers Gaming the System: Exploring Opportunistic Behaviours in a Low-Stakes Accountability System
Language: English
Authors: Gerard Ferrer-Esteban (ORCID 0000-0001-7394-3139), Marcel Pagès (ORCID 0000-0003-3438-9379)
Source: Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability. 2024 36(1):107-137.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 31
Publication Date: 2024
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Secondary Education
Descriptors: Teacher Behavior, Accountability, Standardized Tests, Foreign Countries, Cheating, Elementary School Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Behavior Problems
Geographic Terms: Italy
DOI: 10.1007/s11092-023-09424-3
ISSN: 1874-8597
Abstract: Based on the theoretical approaches of social capital and institutional trust, this paper seeks to identify contextual factors and conditions behind teacher behaviours which aim to alter the results of standardised tests in the Italian low-stakes accountability system. Numerous studies report significant factors associated with student cheating, but research into the factors of teacher-led opportunistic actions is scarce. Logistic regression models with fixed-effects at classroom level, with interaction terms, were carried out to identify factors increasing the likelihood of teacher misbehaviour. Models included approximately 79,100 primary, lower and upper secondary classrooms. Indicators of teacher cheating were estimated through algorithms based on suspicious answer strings from standardised tests. The results suggest that teacher cheating may be understood as a form of support for the most vulnerable students, since it is, to a greater extent, found helping low-income students, grade-retained students, as well as students in socially homogenous school settings. The findings also reveal that teacher cheating is consistently related to collectively share non-civic-minded behaviours and practices undertaken by teachers, which do not match legal requirements, such as within-school social segregation and exclusion of students from tests. Heterogeneous effects show that, even in classrooms with external controllers, the lower the civic capital in a school, the more misbehaviour are found. Relevant implications for research, social theory and policy are discussed.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2024
Accession Number: EJ1417135
Database: ERIC
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gerard+Ferrer-Esteban%22">Gerard Ferrer-Esteban</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7394-3139">0000-0001-7394-3139</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marcel+Pagès%22">Marcel Pagès</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3438-9379">0000-0003-3438-9379</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Educational+Assessment%2C+Evaluation+and+Accountability%22"><i>Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability</i></searchLink>. 2024 36(1):107-137.
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  Data: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
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  Data: 10.1007/s11092-023-09424-3
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  Data: 1874-8597
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  Data: Based on the theoretical approaches of social capital and institutional trust, this paper seeks to identify contextual factors and conditions behind teacher behaviours which aim to alter the results of standardised tests in the Italian low-stakes accountability system. Numerous studies report significant factors associated with student cheating, but research into the factors of teacher-led opportunistic actions is scarce. Logistic regression models with fixed-effects at classroom level, with interaction terms, were carried out to identify factors increasing the likelihood of teacher misbehaviour. Models included approximately 79,100 primary, lower and upper secondary classrooms. Indicators of teacher cheating were estimated through algorithms based on suspicious answer strings from standardised tests. The results suggest that teacher cheating may be understood as a form of support for the most vulnerable students, since it is, to a greater extent, found helping low-income students, grade-retained students, as well as students in socially homogenous school settings. The findings also reveal that teacher cheating is consistently related to collectively share non-civic-minded behaviours and practices undertaken by teachers, which do not match legal requirements, such as within-school social segregation and exclusion of students from tests. Heterogeneous effects show that, even in classrooms with external controllers, the lower the civic capital in a school, the more misbehaviour are found. Relevant implications for research, social theory and policy are discussed.
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      – SubjectFull: Italy
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