Two former Atlanta high school teachers are accused of giving students answers to district tests, in one case boosting scores on the test used to evaluate teachers’ job performance.
The cheating allegedly took place this spring, soon after 11 former Atlanta educators were convicted for their roles in a districtwide cheating conspiracy.
When Atlanta Public Schools superintendent Meria Carstarphen took office last year, she pledged to root out a culture of corruption within APS that allowed unethical behavior and retaliation to fester.
But even as she's replaced dozens of district and central office administrators, allegations of unethical behavior — including cheating and grade-changing — have continued to emerge.
“It’s bizarre to me that we still have adults that think this kind of behavior is okay,” Deputy Superintendent David Jernigan said.
These latest cases took place at Grady High School, one of Atlanta Public Schools’ higher-performing high schools.
In one instance, basketball coach and physical education teacher Harlen Graham admitted giving students answers for an exam used to evaluate teachers, according to a district report. The exam was for a “recreational games” class.
Georgia teachers are graded in part on how much their students learn each year. For teachers of subjects not covered by state standardized tests, that’s measured by giving students a test at the beginning and end of the year.
District officials are also investigating a few other separate allegations of teachers manipulating the results of their evaluation tests, district spokesman James Malone said.
Graham read questions from the end-of-the-year test to students before the exam and gave them the answers, according to a district report. He told investigators he wanted to be sure he met the standards for what students were supposed to learn in his course.
But he denied cheating, saying he modified the questions’ phrasing and didn’t read all the multiple-choice options aloud.
In another instance, science teacher David Olorunfemi gave students a “study guide” with questions and answers for their final biology exam, a standardized test designed by APS, according to a district report. He told investigators he knew it was wrong but wanted his students to do well on the test.
Olorunfemi’s students’ grades will not be affected by the cheating allegations, district spokesman James Malone said.
Graham resigned and Olorunfemi retired after district investigators recommended firing them.
Neither responded to phone and email messages from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday.
Jernigan said the district moved quickly in response to the allegations, which were reported to Grady’s principal by a student’s parent and a teacher.
“What encourages me about both of these situations is that we had kids, we had parents, we had teachers, we had a principal who immediately recognized that this was wrong, reported it and we held them accountable,” Jernigan said. “To me that’s different than in the past.”
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