Georgia could toss suspect math exam results

ATLANTA — Georgia could become the latest state to punish schools caught cheating on standardized tests, becoming another example of what some observers call an alarming trend of educators caving under the pressure to meet federal achievement standards.

The state Board of Education is set to vote Thursday on whether to void the test scores for four elementary schools and revoke their favorable standing on federal No Child Left Behind measurements. A state audit released last month shows someone changed students’ answers on the math portion of the fifth-grade Criterion-Referenced Competency Test after the exams were turned into teachers.

The audit is the latest sign that pressure is mounting on teachers and principals to raise test scores and pass muster on federal benchmarks, said Robert Schaeffer, public education director for the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. States like Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia and California have all had problems with cheating on high-stakes exams and have done everything from tossing out test results to firing teachers and principals, Schaeffer said.

“The pressure on teachers and administrators to boost scores is so heavy that some people crack,” he said. “When the pressure grows strong enough, people cross the ethical line. There’s more pressure to use the eraser or to fill in the empty bubble.”

In Georgia, state data released Wednesday indicates the students whose tests are in question were not prepared for sixth-grade math though the questionable tests showed them performing well on the fifth-grade test.

For example, 83 percent of students at Parklane Elementary in Fulton County passed the fifth-grade math Criterion-Referenced Competency Test on the second go-round last year, but only 29 percent of those students passed the sixth-grade exam this year. In Burroughs-Molette Elementary in Glynn County, 85 percent of students passed the fifth-grade test, compared to 33 percent who passed the sixth-grade exam.

“Of course we would expect if they did very well in fifth-grade, they would be able to stay in that same level of achievement,” said Kathleen Mathers, head of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, which released an audit last month revealing the cheating.

The data was presented during a Georgia Board of Education meeting Wednesday where Mathers recommended that the tests be voided. That action could mean the four schools where tampered tests were found no longer meet federal standards under the No Child Left Behind law.

Schools that consistently fall short of those benchmarks face sanctions, ranging from offering tutoring to a state takeover.

The possible cheating was revealed by a state audit last month conducted by Mathers’ office. State officials do not believe students are responsible for the changed answers, alterations that improved students’ scores and helped the schools make “adequate yearly progress” on federal standards.

The audit found the altered answer sheets had up to 40 erasures, compared with the average of two per student on other answer sheets. Most of the answers were changed to make them correct.

At least one district involved is disputing the audit.

Atlanta Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall sent a letter to the Office of Student Achievement saying the district “strongly disagrees” with the allegations. The audit named Atlanta’s Deerwood Academy as one of the four schools where cheating may have occurred.

“There is no evidence, no base in fact, that someone actually altered students’ answers,” Hall wrote, adding that the school should not face any sanctions.

The three other districts are not disputing the allegations.

James Berry, principal at Atherton Elementary in DeKalb County, resigned in June after admitting he changed students’ answers on tests to improve their scores. His assistant principal, Doretha Alexander, has been reassigned.

Berry and Alexander were arrested last month and charged with tampering with state documents, which is a felony.

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which oversees the licensing of educators, is expected to investigate the two administrators and an unknown number of educators from Glynn County’s Burroughs-Molette Elementary.

An internal investigation by Glynn County revealed “test improprieties,” but district officials have declined to say who they think is responsible. Glynn County District Attorney Stephen Kelley said his office is not investigating the allegations at this point.

Fulton County, whose Parklane Elementary was named in the audit, conducted an investigation into the cheating allegations, but the findings were “inconclusive,” attorney Glenn Brock wrote on behalf of the district.

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On the Net:

Georgia Department of Education: www.gadoe.org

Georgia Professional Standards Commission: www.gapsc.com/