Continuing coverage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution broke the story of widespread cheating in Atlanta Public Schools and has followed it for years through all the investigations and the months-long trial. We continue to keep you up to date on the repercussions of the scandal, including today's news of what the district plans to do for students identified as the victims. You can find all of our past coverage and extras including timelines, photo galleries and interactive charts on myajc.com.
Four years after a state report described widespread cheating in the Atlanta schools, district leaders say they’ll deliver on promises to identify children hurt by cheating and help them get back on track.
The long-awaited move could cost the district millions of dollars, a price tag stretching beyond the funds in the current budget. District officials said how to fund the new round of extra help—including face-to-face tutoring and online lessons—is an open question.
Starting this summer, the district will start contacting thousands of Atlanta students who had their answer sheets manipulated in 2009. The students’ parents will meet with educators at their schools to develop plans to get students back on track.
Until now, Atlanta has offered tutoring and other help to all students falling behind, not just those identified as cheating victims. Carstarphen’s predecessor, Erroll Davis, said the victims could not be identified.
“The programs that we will implement will go above and beyond what’s now offered to all students,” district accountability chief Bill Caritj said.
“If we do this right, if we do it well, and we actually resource it right, it will help us rebuild the integrity of the Atlanta Public Schools,” Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said.
A study from Georgia State University researchers completed earlier this spring estimated that about 7,000 students likely had their answer sheets manipulated on the 2009 state tests.
Of those determined to have been cheated, only 3,728 — a little over half — were still enrolled at the start of the past school year, according to the study by Tim R. Sass and two doctoral students. It’s unclear whether the rest graduated, aged out, dropped out or transferred to other school districts.
Today, the largest group of affected students—about 400—are enrolled at Mays High School, Caritj said.
On average, the victims of cheating lost between a quarter and a half year’s worth of learning in reading and English language arts, the report concludes. The victims fell behind peers who in some cases were in the same schools and even the same classrooms but whose tests did not show indications of tampering.
Results from the Georgia State study suggest those general remediation programs offered so far have not had an overwhelming effect.
Tutoring for some students — particularly those who are already in high school — could start as soon as this fall. However, it will likely take most of the first semester to complete all of the tutoring plans, according to a district presentation.
The district’s accountability department will report on and monitor students’ progress through graduation.
After the April sentencing of 10 educators convicted in the test-cheating scandal, the Fulton County District Attorney's office announced the creation of the Atlanta Redemption Academy to help students who fell behind because of cheating. Bernice King, daughter of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., said she'd help lead the effort. Judge Jerry Baxter suggested that those convicted volunteer to serve the students they had cheated by working with the academy.
“Our office, with the assistance of Reverend Bernice King and other community stakeholders, is currently piecing together the exact mechanics of the academy. Once we have completed that task, we will share additional details with the public,” District Attorney Paul Howard said in a written statement Monday.
School district spokesman James Malone said Monday the district had not been contacted by Howard’s office about the program.
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