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<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-Q61Y5YWXL4"></script><script>window.dataLayer=window.dataLayer || [];function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}gtag('js',new Date());gtag('config','G-Q61Y5YWXL4',{'ericID':'ED314454'});</script><title>ERIC - ED314454 - How Public Educators Cheat on Standardized Achievement Tests: The "Lake Wobegon" Report., 1989</title><meta name="description" content="American school officials almost invariably compare local and national achievement through one of the following norm-referenced tests: (1) the California Achievement Test; (2) the Stanford Achievement Test; (3) the Metropolitan Achievement Test; (4) the Science Research Associates Test; (5) the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills; and (6) the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The vast majority of districts has shown steady improvement in norm-referenced test scores over the past 15 years despite the fact that other indicators of achievement do not reflect gains in American education. By early 1988 all 50 states were testing above the publisher's national norm, a phenomenon dubbed the "Lake Wobegon" effect, in reference to the mythical town where all children are above average. The survey conducted for this report in 1989 found 48 of the 50 states again scoring above the national norm, while 90% of elementary schools and 80% of secondary schools exceeded the national norm. The"><meta name="citation_abstract" content="American school officials almost invariably compare local and national achievement through one of the following norm-referenced tests: (1) the California Achievement Test; (2) the Stanford Achievement Test; (3) the Metropolitan Achievement Test; (4) the Science Research Associates Test; (5) the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills; and (6) the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The vast majority of districts has shown steady improvement in norm-referenced test scores over the past 15 years despite the fact that other indicators of achievement do not reflect gains in American education. By early 1988 all 50 states were testing above the publisher's national norm, a phenomenon dubbed the "Lake Wobegon" effect, in reference to the mythical town where all children are above average. The survey conducted for this report in 1989 found 48 of the 50 states again scoring above the national norm, while 90% of elementary schools and 80% of secondary schools exceeded the national norm. The"> <meta name="eric #" content="ED314454" /> <meta name="citation_title" content="How Public Educators Cheat on Standardized Achievement Tests: The "Lake Wobegon" Report." /> <meta name="citation_author" content="Cannell, John Jacob" /> <meta name="citation_pdf_url" content="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED314454.pdf" /> <meta name="descriptors" content="Academic Achievement; Achievement Gains; Achievement Tests; Cheating; Elementary Secondary Education; National Surveys; Norm Referenced Tests; Public Schools; School Personnel; Scores; Standardized Tests; State Norms; State Programs; Test Interpretation; Test Norms; Test Results; Test Use; Testing Problems; Testing Programs" /> <meta name="citation_keywords" content="Academic Achievement; Achievement Gains; Achievement Tests; Cheating; Elementary Secondary Education; National Surveys; Norm Referenced Tests; Public Schools; School Personnel; Scores; Standardized Tests; State Norms; State Programs; Test Interpretation; Test Norms; Test Results; Test Use; Testing Problems; Testing Programs" /> <meta name="citation_publication_date" content="1989/00/00" /> <meta name="citation_publisher" content="Friends for Education, 600 Girard Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 ($15.00)." /> <meta name="citation_language" content="en" /> <meta name="languages" content="English" /> <meta name="identifiers" content="Metropolitan Achievement Tests; Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills; Stanford Achievement Tests; California Achievement Tests; SRA Achievement Series; Iowa Tests of Basic Skills; Lake Wobegon Phenomenon" /> <meta name="source" content="Non-Journal" /> <meta name="level" content="1" /> <meta name="institutions" content="Friends for Education, Albuquerque, NM." /> <meta name="sponsors" content="Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Dayton, OH." /> <meta name="page-topic" content="Academic Achievement; Achievement Gains; Achievement Tests; Cheating; Elementary Secondary Education; National Surveys; Norm Referenced Tests; Public Schools; School Personnel; Scores; Standardized Tests; State Norms; State Programs; Test Interpretation; Test Norms; Test Results; Test Use; Testing Problems; Testing Programs" /> <meta name="page-type" content="" /> <meta name="rating" content="All" /><link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="css/eric.css?v=0.9" media="all"><link rel="image_src" href="img/icon_fbshare.png"><script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-3.5.1.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="js/respond.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="js/eric.js?v=0.8"></script> <script type="text/javascript">$(function() {dser();});</script> </head> <body id="bdyMain"> <div id="main"> <div id="actionbar"><a href="?note">Notes</a><a href="?faq">FAQ</a><a href="?contact">Contact Us</a></div><div id="logo"><a href="?" id="aHome" title="ERIC Home"><img src="img/eric_results.png" id="imgLogo" alt="ERIC - Institute of Education Sciences" /></a></div> <div id="sbar"> <form id="f"> <div> <div id="tab1" class="sTab"><span>Collection</span></div> <div id="tab1b" class="sTab"><a href="#thesaurus">Thesaurus</a></div> <a id="atips" href="?advanced">Advanced<br />Search Tips</a> <input id="s" type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search education resources" /> <input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> <div id="sopt"> <label><input type="checkbox" name="pr" /> Peer reviewed only</label> <label><input type="checkbox" name="ft" /> Full text available on ERIC</label> </div> </form> <form id="ft" style="display:none"> <div> <div id="tab2b" class="sTab"><a href="#collection">Collection</a></div> <div id="tab2" class="sTab"><span>Thesaurus</span></div> <a id="attips" href="?ti=all">Browse<br />Thesaurus</a> <input id="st" type="text" name="qt" placeholder="Search thesaurus descriptors" /> <input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> <div id="soptt"> <label><input type="checkbox" name="ts" /> Include Synonyms</label> <label><input type="checkbox" name="td" /> Include Dead terms</label> </div> </form> </div> <div id="i"><div id="details" class="record"><div></div><div id="r_colR"><div class="r_f"><a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED314454.pdf" target="_blank"><img src="img/pdficon_large.png" alt="PDF on ERIC" /> Download full text</a><br /></div><div style="font-size:0.8em;padding-top:4px;padding-left:8px"><div><strong>ERIC Number:</strong> ED314454</div><div><strong>Record Type:</strong> Non-Journal</div><div><strong>Publication Date:</strong> 1989</div><div><strong>Pages:</strong> 125</div><div><strong>Abstractor:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>ISBN:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>ISSN:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>EISSN:</strong> N/A</div></div></div><div class="title">How Public Educators Cheat on Standardized Achievement Tests: The "Lake Wobegon" Report.</div><div class="r_a"><div style="margin:0;padding:4px 0">Cannell, John Jacob</div></div><div><div style="margin-right:232px"><div class="abstract">American school officials almost invariably compare local and national achievement through one of the following norm-referenced tests: (1) the California Achievement Test; (2) the Stanford Achievement Test; (3) the Metropolitan Achievement Test; (4) the Science Research Associates Test; (5) the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills; and (6) the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The vast majority of districts has shown steady improvement in norm-referenced test scores over the past 15 years despite the fact that other indicators of achievement do not reflect gains in American education. By early 1988 all 50 states were testing above the publisher's national norm, a phenomenon dubbed the "Lake Wobegon" effect, in reference to the mythical town where all children are above average. The survey conducted for this report in 1989 found 48 of the 50 states again scoring above the national norm, while 90% of elementary schools and 80% of secondary schools exceeded the national norm. The causes of this phenomenon (including possible cheating, deceptive testing practices, and misleading reporting methods) are discussed, and steps to avoid cheating are reviewed. A final chapter considers the effects of these inflated scores. Three appendices present: the test results from the 50 states; a survey of test security practices; and other indicators of state achievement. (SLD)</div><div class="keywords">Descriptors: <a href="?ti=Academic+Achievement">Academic Achievement</a>, <a href="?ti=Achievement+Gains">Achievement Gains</a>, <a href="?ti=Achievement+Tests">Achievement Tests</a>, <a href="?ti=Cheating">Cheating</a>, <a href="?ti=Elementary+Secondary+Education">Elementary Secondary Education</a>, <a href="?ti=National+Surveys">National Surveys</a>, <a href="?ti=Norm+Referenced+Tests">Norm Referenced Tests</a>, <a href="?ti=Public+Schools">Public Schools</a>, <a href="?ti=School+Personnel">School Personnel</a>, <a href="?ti=Scores">Scores</a>, <a href="?ti=Standardized+Tests">Standardized Tests</a>, <a href="?ti=State+Norms">State Norms</a>, <a href="?ti=State+Programs">State Programs</a>, <a href="?ti=Test+Interpretation">Test Interpretation</a>, <a href="?ti=Test+Norms">Test Norms</a>, <a href="?ti=Test+Results">Test Results</a>, <a href="?ti=Test+Use">Test Use</a>, <a href="?ti=Testing+Problems">Testing Problems</a>, <a href="?ti=Testing+Programs">Testing Programs</a></div><div style="font-style:italic;font-size:0.9em">Friends for Education, 600 Girard Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 ($15.00).</div></div></div><div class="clear"></div><div class="sInfo"><div><div><strong>Publication Type:</strong> Reports - Evaluative</div><div><strong>Education Level:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>Audience:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>Language:</strong> English</div><div><strong>Sponsor:</strong> Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Dayton, OH.</div><div><strong>Authoring Institution:</strong> Friends for Education, Albuquerque, NM.</div><div><strong>Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys:</strong> Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills; Iowa Tests of Basic Skills; Metropolitan Achievement Tests; California Achievement Tests; SRA Achievement Series; Stanford Achievement Tests</div><div><strong>Grant or Contract Numbers:</strong> N/A</div></div></div><div class="clear" style="margin:0"></div></div></div> <div id="divFooter"><div id="ftrPadding"><div id="ftr"><div id="ftrSocial"> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SearchEduResources" id="facebook" style="padding-bottom:5px"><img src="img/icon_facebook.gif" alt="Facebook" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ERICinfo" id="twitter"><img src="img/icon_twitter.gif" alt="Twitter" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a></div><div id="ftrLogos"><a href="http://www.ed.gov"><img src="img/logo_ed.gif" alt="Department of Education"></a><a href="http://ies.ed.gov"><img src="img/logo_ies.gif" alt="Institute of Education Statistics"></a></div><div id="centerLinks"><a href="?privacy">Privacy</a> | <a href="?copyright">Copyright</a> | <a href="?contact">Contact Us</a> | <a href="?selection">Selection Policy</a> | <a href="?api">API</a> | <a href="metrics">Metrics</a><div><a href="?journals">Journals</a> | <a href="?nonjournals">Non-Journals</a> | <a href="?download">Download</a> | <a href="submit">Submit</a> | <a href="?multimedia">Multimedia</a> | <a href="?widget">Widget</a></div></div></div><script id="_fed_an_ua_tag" language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="/js/Universal-Federated-Analytics-Min.js?pga4=55622235&agency=ED&subagency=ERIC"></script></div></div> </div> <script type="text/javascript">//<![CDATA[ if(self!=top) {top.location=self.location;} //]]></script> </body> </html>