Principal Resigns Under CRCT Probe

DECATUR, GA -- The principal of a DeKalb County elementary school has resigned amid allegations he purposely altered standardized test scores. Atherton Elementary School principal Dr. James Berry faces accusations that he cheated from the school system.

The number two person at Atherton, Assistant Principal Doretha Alexander is under investigation according to school system officials.

DeKalb school system officials are the first of four school districts in the state to take action. "We were shocked and just very disappointed," said DeKalb Chief Deputy Superintendent Robert Moseley.

Three other schools are alleged to have erased answers on CRCT tests and replaced them with correct answers. They are Deerwood Academy in Atlanta, Parklane Elementary School in Fulton County and Burroughs-Molette Elementary in Glynn County.

When asked if the administration at Atherton Elementary cheated, Moseley said "Yes, yes, and our students were cheated."

Moseley said no students and no teachers have been implicated in the cheating scandal. He said it appears to be the principal and the assistant principal.

The Governor's Office of Student Achievement thinks someone at the four schools erased incorrect answers and replaced them with correct answers in an attempt to improve test scores to meet national standards.

The test results are for 5th graders who took the standardized test in the summer of 2008. Those students failed the test in the spring.

Half of the 5th graders who took the CRCT in the spring of 2008 at Atherton failed. When they took the test in the summer, all 32-of those who failed passed.

The reason officials detected the cheating is because the state has a system that can determine whether cheating has taken place. That system was used for the first time.

It's maddening to parents like Ishimina Hicks whose son Xavier just finished the fifth grade at Atherton Elementary. "The thing that I tell him even if you can't do it, at least try," Hicks said. "What this school is telling these kids is that they think they're going to fail and now they're going to cheat for them to get them to pass, to make the school look good."

Xavier Hicks failed this springs CRCT test. He's going to summer school to re-take it. "I want to know is it going to be fair," she asked. "Is it really going to be his test results?"

Chief Deputy Superintendent Moseley says the district is working hard to restore parent's confidence. "In this incident I'm sure we lost the confidence of some parents, but we're going to earn it back, we're putting in a new administrative staff and support for the boys and girls of Atherton," he said.

Moseley says Superintendent Dr. Crawford Lewis will meet with principals and assistant principals from all of DeKalb County schools next Wednesday. "He will tell them that we will lead the state in student achievement but we're not going to do it by cheating," he said. "We are going to do the right thing every time and when we come up short, the consequences are severe."