More than 175 teachers and principals in the Atlanta Public Schools were involved in falsifying mandated standardized tests taken by elementary and middle school students in 2009, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday when he released the findings of an investigation of irregularities in the system. The report is damaging on several levels.
The educators, investigators said, either helped students or changed their answers on the exams, which are used to determine if schools have made adequate yearly progress under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act. The educators’ goal: To make the schools and the teachers in them seem to be performing at a high level. Never mind that the false scores harmed the students whose scores were involved.
Many subsequently were denied the remedial help they were entitled to had their true scores been reported. Others, according to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who called the report a “dark day” for the city’s schools, were “promoted to the next grade without meeting basic academic standards.” That’s a recipe for future academic failure.
The educators involved likely will pay a price for their actions – and should.
Gov. Deal did not release the full text of the report because he is forwarding the results of the investigation to prosecutors and to the state Professional Standards Commission. The former will determine if the educators violated any laws and are subject to prosecution. The latter, which licenses teachers in the state, will determine if the teachers and principals involved should have their licenses suspended or revoked. That’s the first step in addressing the cheating scandal.