Dana Goldstein cites a a social science maxim to explain powerful evidence that former D.C.schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's heavy incentives for improved test score results led to widespread cheating: In the social sciences, there is an oft-repeated maxim called Campbell’s Law, named after Donald Campbell, a psychologist who studied human creativity. Campbell’s Law states that incentives corrupt. In other words, the more punishments and rewards—such as merit pay—are associated with the results of any given test, the more likely it is that the test’s results will be rendered meaningless, either through outright cheating or through teaching to the test in a way that narrows the curriculum and renders real learning obsolete.
Pay for performance, Baltimore police style
Pay for performance, Baltimore police style
Pay for performance, Baltimore police style
Dana Goldstein cites a a social science maxim to explain powerful evidence that former D.C.schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's heavy incentives for improved test score results led to widespread cheating: In the social sciences, there is an oft-repeated maxim called Campbell’s Law, named after Donald Campbell, a psychologist who studied human creativity. Campbell’s Law states that incentives corrupt. In other words, the more punishments and rewards—such as merit pay—are associated with the results of any given test, the more likely it is that the test’s results will be rendered meaningless, either through outright cheating or through teaching to the test in a way that narrows the curriculum and renders real learning obsolete.