A 12-year-old surprise defense witness Wednesday vehemently denied accusations his former Atlanta Public Schools teacher coached kids to change answers on a 2009 state exam.
The student testified fourth grade teacher Derrick Broadwater was a good teacher who deserves to keep his job.
“He read the directions and started walking around,” the student said of testing days in 2009. “He didn’t say nothing to the students.”
The boy was the first student to testify in the district's termination proceedings against educators suspected of cheating. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not using his name because of his age.
In addition to the former Dobbs Elementary School student, the tribunal also heard testimony from a lawyer who said he witnessed Broadwater's interview with state investigators. The lawyer maintained the educator never confessed to cheating.
“He admitted no falsehoods; he admitted no crime; he admitted no cheating whatsoever in the conversation," attorney John C. Jones told the panel. "It is just false."
A charge letter that referred Broadwater for termination said that according to the special investigative report on the 2009 state exam the teacher "admitted" to violating testing rules and prompting students to recheck their work if he saw wrong answers.
Broadwater is one of nearly 180 APS teachers suspected of cheating on the state exam. He has been charged with willful neglect of duties, immorality and violating ethics policies.
APS attorney Nina Gupta called attorney Roslyn S. Mowatt, who was part of the investigative team appointed to probe allegations of widespread cheating on the 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests. She said she, too, witnessed Broadwater's interview with the state.
"Mr. Broadwater admitted to walking around monitoring the students and when he noticed that certain students had marked the wrong answer, he would say, ‘Make sure you go back and check your answers.'" Mowatt said.
Last week, Eugene Howard, a special agent with the GBI, testified the notes he took during the Broadwater interview had been destroyed and said the tape recording was part of a criminal investigation and was not available at the time of his testimony.
However, Broadwater's defense team subpoenaed the tape.
The tribunal hearing was continued until a copy of the alleged taped confession can be produced. It is unknown when the case against Broadwater will resume.
Tribunal chairwoman Delories Horton said she wanted to be sure the panel gave a fair assessment to the evidence. She said it was necessary for the three-hour tape to be played so the tribunal could hear the interview for themselves.
University of Georgia law professor Ronald Carlson has said the tape evidence could be a matter for a judge to decide.
In presenting the case against Broadwater, Gupta said he had been trained to administer the state exam and was aware of the rules against prompting students to change answers and veering from the test script, but he did it anyway, resulting in inflated test scores.
“In 2009, virtually all of your students met or exceeded all standards except for a few that were having problems in reading,” Gupta said. Fifth-grade teachers who had the students the next year wondered why their class performance didn't match their state exam scores, she said.
The teacher's team of attorneys called five witnesses to testify on his behalf, including a test proctor who was in his room, as well as Broadwater himself.
Broadwater, who came to Dobbs Elementary in 2006, said he is at risk of losing the job he loves.
“I have a letter that is basically controlling what I love to do," he said. "To this day I don't understand. ... What I got my four degrees for was to teach students. It's been my passion since the second grade."
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