APS has spent $7.5 million so far helping cheated students -- the results are mixed
Atlanta Public Schools has spent about $7.5 million so far to provide tutoring and services to students whose test answers were likely changed by educators during the districtwide cheating scandal.
State investigators and a Fulton County jury found that teachers and administrators corrected wrong answers on a 2009 standardized test -- cheating that led to criminal convictions and kept some students from receiving the help they could have received if the fake test scores hadn't obscured their academic troubles. After the school board hired Superintendent Meria Carstarphen in 2014, she got to work trying to identify the likely victims and developing a program to help them inside and outside of class.
But a recent evaluation of the remediation program's first three semesters shows mixed results. Participants' grade point average increased slightly, but they also
missed an estimated 1.3 to 1.7 more days of school than the comparison group, among other findings.
Read more here about how the students swept up in the cheating scandal are doing now.
MYAJC.COM: REAL JOURNALISM. REAL LOCAL IMPACT.
The AJC's Vanessa McCray keeps you updated on the latest happenings in the Atlanta Public Schools system. You'll find more on myAJC.com, including these stories:
- APS plan means some teachers may not keep jobs at struggling school
- Jury sides with Atlanta schools in teacher whistle-blower suit
- Atlanta school board praises superintendent at mid-year review
Never miss a minute of what's happening in state and local education. Subscribe to myAJC.com.
About the Author
