9486 in the collection  

Police: GA Principal Arrested in Cheating Probe

Ohanian Comment: Interesting. I couldn't find this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It's in the Las Vegas Sun but not the Atlanta paper. Maybe the media is trying to give these two a break. I admit to feeling sorry that educators were under such pressure to improve standardized test scores that they would ruin their careers by changing answers. It's a very sad thing.

By Kate Brumback, Associated Press

Atlanta -- A suburban Atlanta principal who resigned during an
investigation into cheating on students' standardized tests was arrested
Friday and accused of altering public documents.

The school's assistant principal also turned herself in to local police
Thursday night in a case that the head of a state teacher's group
described as rare. School officials allege that the two changed answers
on fifth-grade standardized tests to improve scores and help their
school meet federal achievement standards.

Former Dekalb County principal James Berry was arrested at his home on
charges of altering public documents, a felony. His assistant principal
Dorothea Alexander faces the same charges.

Berry, the former principal of Atherton Elementary, left the county jail
Friday evening without commenting to reporters gathered outside. A jail
official said his bond was $15,000. Alexander was released earlier
Friday on $1,500 bond.

A state investigation released last week found that student scores on
state math tests were altered at four schools in the state, including
Atherton, in an effort to boost those schools' performance. Officials do
not believe students were involved.

Jeff Hubbard, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, said
this is the first time he's heard of teachers or administrators being
arrested for such offenses.

"This is one of the worst academic offenses an educator can do or be
accused of because it messes with a child's future," Hubbard said.

An administrative probe into the matter by DeKalb County Schools
revealed that Berry was involved in altering the tests, said district
spokesman Dale Davis. He said the district is still investigating
Alexander, who has been reassigned.

Davis released a statement Friday saying the school district was
surprised at the arrests and had not been notified beforehand.

It was not immediately clear whether Berry or Alexander had a lawyer.

DeKalb County Chief Assistant District Attorney Don Geary said he
expects the investigation to be turned over to his office in the next
few days so a decision can be made on formal charges.

Berry resigned last week, while Alexander was reassigned by district
officials. Messages left at each of their homes Friday were not
immediately returned.

The arrests follow a state audit that "showed very clearly that someone
had intentionally changed students' answers on those tests," said
Kathleen Mathers, spokeswoman of the Governor's Office of Student
Achievement. The resulting higher scores helped four schools meet
standards and avoid sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Schools that don't meet standards under the law must offer extra
tutoring and allow parents to transfer their children to higher
performing schools.

The audit found the answer sheets of the altered tests 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.

Tests from schools in three other systems are also under review.

— Kate Brumback, Associated Press
Las Vegas Sun
2008-06-19
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/19/police-ga-principal-arrested-in-cheating-probe/

---

INDEX OF OUTRAGES

Pages: 380   
[1] 2 3 4 5 6  Next >>    Last >>