Former Atlanta Public Schools principal Willie Davenport, one of 35 educators indicted on charges of cheating on standardized tests, has died. She was 66.
Davenport was the principal at D.H. Stanton Elementary School in central Atlanta in 2009 when a state investigation into cheating said she falsified attendance records and failed to properly monitor standardized tests.
Her death was confirmed Wednesday by Howard Grant, executive director of the Atlanta Board of Education. The cause and date of her death had not been released.
The state report on cheating on the 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test said Davenport “pressured teachers to meet targets and raise test scores.”
Davenport denied allegations of cheating, the report said. She told investigators that she never touched a test and that she wasn’t aware her school’s testing coordinator had done anything to the tests.
Davenport was facing criminal charges of racketeering and two counts of making false statements. She was scheduled to go on trial with others accused of cheating next spring.
About the Author
