APS student testifies teacher helped her on tests

A former Atlanta Public Schools student testified Tuesday in the APS test-cheating trial that she was elated when she exceeded expectations on her third-grade standardized tests because she had struggled so much with reading and math.

“I was like, I guess I finally put my mind into it and did a great job,” said the girl.

But the girl soon acknowledged, a bit reluctantly, a potential reason for why she did so well. During the 2006 standardized test, a Cascade Elementary School teacher would give her a correct answer when she raised her hand, said the girl, now a 17-year-old high school student in Marietta.

Fulton County prosecutors called on the teenager, whose name is being withheld because of a court order, and her mother as the first witnesses in the APS trial. Through their testimony, prosecutors sought to show how struggling students did not get the extra help they needed because test-cheating falsely inflated their academic progress and how their parents hit roadblocks with they tried to get answers about testing irregularities.

The former APS student acknowledged being a bit nervous when she took the stand. But when prosecutor Clint Rucker asked her what she wants to be, she smiled broadly. “I’d like to be a fashion designer,” she said.

But the girl testified that she continues to lag far behind in reading. This also hinders her work in other subjects, such as science.

“Do you think you’d be doing better if you could read better?” Rucker asked.

“Yeah,” the girl replied.

The girl’s mother, Justina Collins, said she was dumbfounded when she got her daughter’s results on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) for third-graders. Even though Collins had been homeless and in an abusive relationship, she was a hands-on mom who was well aware her daughter performed poorly in reading and math.

Collins, now a 37-year-old probation officer pursuing a master’s degree in psychology, has become a reluctant spokeswoman for APS parents. She has said she didn’t want to get involved, but prosecutors issued a subpoena compelling her to testify to the grand jury, and then District Attorney Paul Howard asked her to appear at a press conference announcing the indictment of 35 former Atlanta Public Schools employees in connection with the test-cheating scandal last year.

Twelve of those indicted are standing trial now.

In 2006, Collins sought answers when her daughter performed so well on the CRCT. Unsatisfied with the Cascade principal’s explanation, Collins said she took MARTA to the district’s central office to meet with “someone in charge.”

She said she initially met with four women and outlined her concerns. On the way out, Collins said, she crossed paths with former APS Superintendent Beverly Hall in the hallway.

When asked what Hall said, Collins testified, “She basically said nothing could be done at this time,” but to contact the district if she had further questions.

But what Collins did not say about her discussion with Hall was also notable. During opening statements Monday, lead prosecutor Fani Willis told jurors that Hall told Collins, “Your baby, she just tests well.”

Collins made no mention of that Tuesday.

The district did look into Collins’ concerns. According to a November 2006 district memo entered into evidence, Cascade’s former principal, Alfonso Jessie, called Collins’ daughter into his office after Collins expressed concerns about the test scores. He gave the student a reading test, which she completed, the document said.