A study of what went wrong

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Veteran teachers understood that changing students’ CRCT answer sheets was expected at Gideons [Elementary School]. They changed the answer sheets of the students taught by newer teachers until the new teacher was trusted to be brought into the cheating scheme. When they decided a new teacher was ready, veteran teachers instructed them to “go see (the teacher) and check your tests.”

Not all teachers, veteran or new, participated in the cheating, but the scheme was an open secret at Gideons Elementary.

One group of teachers took their students’ answer sheets to the home of a teacher and held a “changing party” over the weekend in Douglas County, Georgia. Other teachers changed their students’ answer sheets after hours at school during the testing window.

(A school official) obstructed this investigation when he instructed teachers not to cooperate. He said to them, “If anyone asks you anything about this just tell them you don’t know. You did not. Stick with it.” (The official) also told teachers to “just stick to the story and it will all go away.”

One [Perkerson Elementary School] student sat under a table, then randomly filled in answers and still passed. There was a student [teacher Jocelyn] Mack wanted to keep in first grade at the request of the student’s parent. (School officials) said the student had to be promoted to second grade because the student passed the CRCT.

Multiple fifth grade teachers [at Dobbs Elementary School] testified that their incoming students lacked the skills required to score as highly as they did on their fourth grade CRCT. Fourth grade teachers (names withheld) prompted their students to change answers during the administration of the CRCT. (A teacher) threatened students by telling them they would have to repeat the fourth grade if they ever told of the cheating.

In addition to prompting, (two teachers) possessed a photocopy of the CRCT. They used the photocopy to prepare students for the upcoming questions on the CRCT.

(One teacher) prompted (another teacher’s) students ... (The teacher) said to another teacher, “I had to give them [students] the answers, those kids were dumb as hell.”