N.Y. School Officials Helped Students Cheat, Report Says

Teachers and administrators at 32 New York City schools helped students cheat on standardized tests by providing them with questions in advance and even marking test forms for them, a special investigator for city schools charged Tuesday.

His report describes crude cheating schemes designed to improve elementary and middle schools’ performance on city and state tests.

“Certainly this is the largest case of its kind anywhere in the country,” said Edward Stancik, whose job is to investigate the city’s 1,100 public schools.

In one case, third-graders reported an exam proctor told them to write their reading test answers on a piece of scrap paper before putting them on the official test, then the proctor--a school principal--allegedly came around to point out incorrect answers.

Proctors at other schools gave answers outright or even wrote on a child’s exam, the report says.