D.C. Cheating Scandal: A Conspiracy of Silence
By M. Catharine Evans and Ann KaneIt took nine years for rumors of cheating on test scores by school personnel in Atlanta to percolate and trigger a devastating nine-month investigation by their governor. Will it take nine or more years for D.C. schoolchildren to get the same kind of justice?
Investigators in Atlanta reported '"a culture of fear and a conspiracy of silence" had existed during Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall's reign. It took 60 agents with subpoena power to break through Hall's firewall and eventually determine that 178 teachers and principals of 44 schools cheated on the 2009 test "either by giving inappropriate help to students or altering answer sheets."'
Presently, teachers and others implicated in the illegal activity are under "a criminal investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard. Howard is looking into felony indictments against the educators for altering state documents, lying to investigators and stealing government funds." Though Hall was "not tied directly to cheating or the direct target of a subpoena[,]" she still ended up losing her position and has become a pariah in the education community.
Educators reaping financial rewards -- i.e., increased teacher pay based on test scores -- by altering
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