[RSCT] AP 7/8/09: Georgia could toss suspect math exam results, joining long lists of state with tampered tests

[Rick Kisséll]

Georgia could toss suspect math exam results, joining long lists of state with tampered tests







   
       DORIE TURNER


   

   
       Associated Press Writer


   







        July 8, 2009




ATLANTA (AP) — 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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