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Monday, November 14, 2011

State Names Lawyer to Investigate Cheating – SchoolBook

State Names Lawyer to Investigate Cheating – SchoolBook:

State Names Lawyer to Investigate Cheating

Following cheating scandals in several major American school districts and a rise in complaints of tamperingwith New York State’s exams, Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. announced on Monday that he would name a veteran lawyer to analyze how the state handles reports of cheating.

Hank Greenberg, a former assistant United States attorney and senior legal adviser to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo when he was attorney general, will review how the state’s Education Department receives and investigates complaints of alleged test tampering.

The appointment of Mr. Greenberg, a lawyer with Greenberg Traurig LLP, is one of several steps Mr. King has taken to try to strengthen the public’s confidence in the state exam results, which are now used as indicators of schools’ and teachers’ success.

The Board of Regents has already voted to ban teachers from grading their own students’ exams, a change that