2015/04/23 – The Mississippi Department of Education issued the first of what it says will be many charges against Clarksdale Municipal School District educators for cheating on the 2012-13 statewide assessments.

At a press conference Thursday in Jackson, state Superintendent Carey Wright announced the agency seeks to revoke the license of former Heidelberg Elementary School teacher Francis Smith-Kemp for “violating state law by knowingly and willfully cheating on state assessments.”

“There are more that are involved,” Wright said. “And this is the first.”

The MDE decision is the result of a year-long probe launched following an investigative report by The Clarion-Ledger that uncovered alleged cheating practices.

“Our investigation has yielded documented evidence, eyewitness testimony and forensic analysis, which substantiates Ms. Smith-Kemp cheated during the 2012-2013 school year,” Wright said. “Our investigation indicates that more people were involved in the testing irregularities. We plan to go forward and seek the appropriate disciplinary action.”

The investigation remains active, and Wright provided no date for its completion.

Smith, who currently teaches at the district’s Oakhurst Intermediate School, faces a May 11 administrative hearing by the state Educator Licensure Commission, which has the authority to revoke or suspend licenses.

It’s unclear if she will continue teaching while awaiting the hearing. Clarksdale Superintendent Dennis Dupree said he hasn’t decided whether to put Smith on administrative leave pending the hearing’s outcome.

He said MDE still hadn’t told him about its actions against Smith and that he needs to see the complaint before reaching a decision.

Because the state’s investigation is ongoing, Dupree declined to make further comment. But he has consistently denied any cheating occurred within the district.

Smith also could face criminal charges if the Attorney General’s Office decides to get involved. Attorney General spokeswoman Jan Schaefer declined to comment on the matter, but sources in Clarksdale said the agency sent investigators to the district several weeks ago.

The Clarion-Ledger had interviewed Smith last year as part of its investigation into claims of widespread cheating at Heidelberg involving numerous educators and affecting dozens of students.

Students said teachers, like Smith, either provided them answers on tests or allowed them to turn in blank test sheets that later were filled in by somebody else. As a result, student test scores skyrocketed, propelling the previously failing school from an F ranking to a B.

One year later, the school achieved an A, the highest accountability status in the state. Its achievements helped lift the entire district from an F to a D.

But many of the same students whose scores elevated the district’s rating could, in reality, barely read or do basic math, The Clarion-Ledger found. Those same stellar grades prevented them from getting the remedial or special education services they needed.

Wright confirmed this Thursday.

“Parents put their children in our care, and I take that very seriously,” Wright said. “When you cheat children out of an education, which is what this is doing, there is no excuse for it.”

One of those students told the newspaper last year that Smith had read test answers aloud to the class.

“She would say, ‘C for cat. D for dog. B for ball. A for apple,'” the student said, describing how Smith provided fifth graders the correct multiple-choice response to each question.

That student had scored advanced in math and proficient in reading on that statewide assessment. But, just a few months later, she tested below grade level in each of those two subjects.

The Clarion-Ledger is not naming the student to protect her privacy.

Smith at the time had denied any knowledge of cheating in her class or any other class at Heidelberg.

Also denying cheating was Heidelberg Principal Lowanda-Tyler Jones, despite claims by several of her former teachers that she had instructed them to help students during the tests, in violating of state law.

Wright said she couldn’t comment on whether Tyler-Jones faces charges.

The Clarion-Ledger published its findings May 14. MDE launched its own probe the same day. It also hired Utah-based Caveon Test Security to assist in that effort.

State investigators reviewed emails and other documents related to the administration in May of the Mississippi Curriculum Test, not just at Heidelberg, but at other schools within the mostly low-income Delta district, according to MDE’s press release issued Tuesday.

The team also also interviewed numerous witnesses, including students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders.

Based on the results of that probe, the state concluded that “reasonable cause existed to believe that Clarksdale Municipal School District employees engaged in or were aware of potential violations of Mississippi testing regulations.”

The state’s investigation entered its second phase on June 30. It has sent several hundred thousand dollars on the effort so far, and those costs could rise.

MDE can recoup those costs from Clarksdale, thanks to a new bill passed this year by the state Legislature that makes local school districts financially responsible for state investigations if found guilty of violations.

In addition to possibly shelling out that money, Clarksdale also stands to lose a $10 million federal Race to the Top grant it had won in December 2013.

Clarksdale was one of five districts nationwide, and the only one in Mississippi, to win the coveted grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

That grant now could be in jeopardy, Wright said Thursday.

“We have notified the Department of Education in D.C. about this investigation,” she said, “and it would not surprise me for the Inspector General to be looking at this, as well.”

Source: The Clarion Ledger

Emily Le Coz