The New Yorker just released a comprehensive piece on the data-driven cheating scandal in Atlanta, GA. A lot has has been written about this, but the author, Rachel Aviv, puts a different spin on it by telling the story through the eyes of a dedicated middle school teacher who sincerely believed that in cheating he was doing the best he could for his students.

While I think we can all agree that cheating is never justified, I love her telling of the story because there are no true villains. There’s nobody out to get children or money or teachers with malicious intent. These were teachers and administrators who were dedicated to serving their kids but got caught up in Atlanta’s all encompassing and myopic focus on data. The people in the story may become villains as it progresses, but at their core they were all people who truly wanted to improve the lives of their students.

Most importantly, her story leaves us asking the question; does a hyper-focus on data like the one created in Atlanta corrupt teachers and administrators, or can we place the blame solely on the individuals? The defendants in her story put the blame in both camps. Teachers and principals acknowledge they did wrong while repeatedly noting that they were influenced to make the decisions they did by a system that, in their view, made success possible only through cheating.

Very informative article, definitely worth a read if you want a people focused view of what happened in Atlanta. I think this is also an important story to tell as a cautionary tale of what can happen when data becomes an end in and of itself. Data is a tool, but should never become the end in and of itself when it comes to education.