Because it has yet to determine who did it and why, the school district isn’t calling it cheating. But what else could this be called?
Whoever changed the answers on the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions did so overtly and, consequently, has punished students who did their best under pressure to show what they’ve learned.
If this could be done at a Seattle public school where the students’ tests scores from the previous year were close to or exceeded district and state averages, what could happen at schools that aren’t achieving at such a high level?
It’s evident that the adults are feeling more pressure than the students for them to do well on these tests. But it certainly doesn’t teach students that cheating is unethical if an adult — much less, an educator — is responsible for this. Nor does it enforce the concept of doing one’s best because, apparently, that isn’t good enough.
The only ones who have been cheated all-around are the students, and they deserve better — they’ve earned it.