ATLANTA,None — Three elementary school teachers told Channel 2 Action News that they have been falsely accused of changing answers on CRCT standardized tests.
A state investigation released this week revealed widespread cheating by teachers, principals and administrators in the Atlanta Public School system.
"I never changed answers. I never cheated," said Sharona Thomas-Wilson. She and two other teachers at Finch Elementary School in southwest Atlanta sat down with Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Regan. They were accompanied by their attorney, Gerald Griggs.
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Griggs told Regan that the teachers are innocent and have been denied due process. He said their reputations have also been damaged.
"You just can't go around labeling people in Georgia without proof. That borders on slander," said Griggs.
The state investigation said cheating on CRCT tests occurred at Finch Elementary in 2009. The report stated that three teachers had confessed to cheating on student answers and concluded Thomas Wilson and two of her colleagues also participated based on "statistical improbability of erasures in their classrooms and inconsistent testimony."
Another accused teacher told Regan that she wouldn't even think of altering a test answer.
"To have someone say I cheated and I could possibly lose my profession, I'm just speechless," said Joya Florence.
The three teachers told Regan that they were bullied and intimidated by investigators conducting the cheating probe.
"The lawyer for the state told my attorney, 'She doesn't need an immunity agreement. She didn't give up anyone and she didn't confess,'" said Thomas-Wilson.
The teachers described constant humiliation and threats from school and district administrators on the need to improve CRCT test scores.
Thomas-Wilson said the school principal, Dr. Linda Paden, conveyed a stern message from a top-ranking district official.
"She wanted us to meet targets. And if we didn't produce, we would be sent to Walmart to work. We would lose our jobs, no excuses," said Thomas-Wilson.
The teacher said she did not witness cheating on test scores, but was concerned when a student in her class failed most CRCT tests after receiving near-perfect scores from another teacher a year earlier. She said she asked the child how he performed so well before.
"He said the teacher cheated, basically gave them the answers," said Thomas-Wilson.
Attorney Griggs said he will fight for the teachers to restore their good names and insure that they keep their jobs.