On July 5, 2011, an 800-page report was released alleging that over 178 teachers and principals in Atlanta city schools were found guilty of either helping students cheat during CRCT exams, or knowing about incidents of cheating and choosing to ignore or hide them. Investigators, who were earlier appointed by former governor Sonny Perdue, examined a total of fifty-six schools and found incidents of cheating in over 78 percent of those Atlanta schools.
Governor Nathan Deal initially gave the go-ahead to release the full report stating, "We cannot allow adult behavior to compromise the very tools which we use statewide to gauge a child's proficiency and whether or not he or she is prepared to succeed in the next grade."
According to the report, the changing of students' CRCT answers often took place during weekend gatherings called "erasure parties." Because of such actions, students in need of educational support were denied assistance because the false CRCT test scores were too high.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed states that these findings not only give the Atlanta Public School system a bad name, but the impact on the families of these students is also tremendously important. Marsha Sims, a mother of three, settled on sending her children to Morris Brandon in northeast Atlanta after a lengthy process of researching schools with the highest test scores. She explains her frustration by exclaiming, "I was comparing [schools]. And to find out now that those test scores were possibly not correct, then how can you choose what school your child attends? I was extremely upset. I mean, extremely."
On Tuesday, July 6, 2011, the Atlanta Public School Board held a news conference concerning the investigators' findings and will need 24 - 48 hours to review the investigation.
Tell us what you think should happen to those educators and principals who ignored or tried to hide those incidents of cheating. We will keep you updated on our blog with the latest findings on this story!
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/28449391/detail.html
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Breaking News: Cheating occurs in Atlanta City Schools
