Testing Scandal in Atlanta: The Sum of All Fears

Superintendent Insulated from Teachers

General Counsel's "main duty" - Provide Supt deniability

"A culture of fear and a conspiracy of silence"
infected schools and intimidated teachers

Top Administrators Refuse Responsibility
for anything but success

Criminal charges against educators are possible

District Punished Whistleblower while Guilty went Free

Teacher with low scores forced to crawl under table at faculty meeting
District Violated Open Records, Illegally Altered documents

Test Erasures 3 Standard Deviations above Norm

This from Atlanta 11 Alive:

ATLANTA -- A state investigation into allegations of cheating by Atlanta Public Schools officials on standardized tests finds nearly 80 percent of schools examined cheated on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT).

An outline of the findings of the investigation from the governor's office:

* Thousands of children were harmed by the 2009 CRCT cheating by being denied remedial education because of their inflated CRCT scores.

* We found cheating in 44 of the 56 schools we examined (78.6%). There were 38 principals of those 56 schools (67.9%) found to be responsible for, or directly involved in, cheating.

* We determined that 178 teachers and principals in the Atlanta Public Schools System cheated. Of the 178, 82 confessed to this misconduct. Six principals refused to answer our questions, and pled the Fifth Amendment, which, under civil law is an implied admission of wrongdoing. These principals, and 32 more, either were involved with, or should have known that, there was test cheating in their schools.

* We empathize with those educators who felt they were pressured to cheat and commend those who were willing to tell us the truth regarding their misconduct. However, this report is not meant to excuse their ethical failings, or exonerate them from their wrongdoings.

* The 2009 CRCT statistics are overwhelming and allow for no conclusion other than widespread cheating in APS. The BRC expert, Dr. John Fremer, wrote an op-ed article for the AJC in which he said there was widespread, organized cheating in APS.

* The drop in 2010 CRCT erasures confirm the conclusion above.

* Cheating occurred as early as 2001.

* There were warnings of cheating on CRCT as early as December 2005/January 2006. The warnings were significant and clear and were ignored.

* Cheating was caused by a number of factors but primarily by the pressure to meet targets in the data-driven environment.

* There was a major failure of leadership throughout APS with regard to the ethical administration of the 2009 CRCT.

* A culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation existed in APS, which created a conspiracy of silence and deniability with respect to standardized test misconduct.

* In addition to the 2009 CRCT cheating, we found other improper conduct: several open record act violations; instances of false statements; and instances of document destruction.  

(Full Report)
"We found cheating in 44 of the 56 schools," Gov. Nathan Deal said as he read from the CRCT report summary during a news conference at the State Capitol Tuesday morning.

"There were 38 principals found to be responsible for or directly involved in cheating," Deal said. In all, he said investigators found 178 teachers and principals were involved with the cheating. Among them, 82 confessed to misconduct and 6 principals refused to participate in the investigation by pleading the 5th Amendment, according to the report.

Recently retired APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall released a statement late Tuesday afternoon denying that she or her staff knew or "should have known" there was widespread cheating.

Hall's statement read as follows:

Having left the Atlanta Public Schools in the very capable hands of Interim Superintendent Erroll Davis, Dr. Beverly Hall has not been given an opportunity to review the Investigators' report to Governor Deal on alleged cheating on the 2009 CRCT. Nor has she been briefed on the contents of the report. Whatever the report may say, Dr. Hall steadfastly denies that she, her staff, or the vast majority of APS teaching and administrative professionals knew or should have known of any allegedly widespread cheating on APS CRCTs in 2009 or any other year. She further denies any other allegations of knowing and deliberate wrongdoing on her part or on the part of her senior staff, whether during the course of the Investigation or before the Investigation began.

Cheating on the CRCT can never be condoned. But whatever cheating may have occurred in the past, test scores in 2010 and 2011 show that APS rests on a firm educational foundation. Tests in those years were conducted under the most stringent security protocols, with State monitors employed in many schools. To be sure, some grades showed declines in 2010. But others showed advances.

Systemwide, scores followed the same upward trend that began in the early 2000s. Scores on this year's CRCT confirmed that trend, with gains over 2010 results in 20 of the 30 grade and subject areas tested. APS students continue to narrow the gap with State averages.

Dr. Hall wishes Interim Superintendent Davis all success in transitioning APS to its next phase. Great progress has been made since 1999. With continued hard work and dedication, even greater progress can be made in the future.

Like the rest of the public, Dr. Hall awaits the disclosure of the report.

An outline of the report released by Gov. Deal's office includes the following:

• Cheating occurred as early as 2001
• Cheating was caused by a number of factors but primarily by the pressure to meet targets in the data-driven environment
• A culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation existed in APS, which created a conspiracy of silence and deniability with respect to standardized test misconduct
• There were clear and significant warnings of cheating on CRCT as early as December 2005/January 2006, but they were ignored
• The statistics are overwhelming and allow for no conclusion other than widespread cheating in APS

Recently retired APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall says that she "steadfastly denies" that she and her staff, along with the "vast majority of APS teaching and administrative professionals knew or should have known" of widespread cheating during 2009 or any other year.

APS Chair Brenda Muhammad called the findings "devastating" after being briefed on the report early Tuesday.

Members of the Atlanta Public Schools Board, interim APS Superintendent Erroll Davis and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed were also briefed on the findings.

Gov. Deal's office is expected to post the full report online some time Tuesday after consulting the State Attorney General to determine if names of educators will have to be removed.

The CRCT report was compiled by two special prosecutors appointed by former Gov. Sonny Perdue to look into allegations of cheating by Atlanta Public Schools on the 2009 CRCT state exams. The appointments were made after a locally-appointed Blue Ribbon Commission failed to determine what happened.

11 Alive interviewed several APS parents who expressed everything from shock to a glimmer of hope.

"It is very disappointing that so many educators felt that this is what they had to do," said Mary Palmer.

"We know that we have done a disservice to our children for years in Atlanta Public Schools and they will be the product of this environment of this community as a result of that failure," said Shawnna Hayes-Tavares.

"It's my hope as a parent and a public school advocate that we can use what we find in this report to move forward and to assure that children won't be cheated ever again," added Julie Davis Salisbury.

Early on, Dr. Beverly Hall, who retired as school superintendent last month, denied that educators were involved in changing student answer sheets to inflate test scores.
But right before she retired, Dr. Hall changed her tune in a video message she e-mailed to employees.

"I expect the investigation to draw some troubling, no alarming, conclusions," Dr. Hall said in late May. "It's become clear that a segment of our staff chose to violate the trust that was placed in them. Let me be clear, there is simply no excuse for unethical behavior and no room in this district for unethical conduct."

"Most educators in this state and most educators in the Atlanta Public Schools are committed, ethical professionals with a passion for educating students," Deal stressed Tuesday. "We owe them a debt of gratitude for their service."

"However, when educators fail to uphold the public trust and students are harmed in the process, there will be consequences," Deal added. "The state has a duty to ensure that students' test results reflect real learning. We cannot allow adult behavior to compromise the very tools which we use statewide to gauge a child's proficiency."

Deal said criminal charges against educators are possible. He plans to send the full report to district attorneys in Fulton, DeKalb and Douglas Counties.

He said the Georgia Professional Standards Commission will also review the findings to determine if there are any violations that could jeopardize teacher certifications.