Charges against 5 Woodland teachers in test prep scandal are overturned
A group of Woodland High School teachers has been vindicated of charges they used real test questions in helping students prepare for the state's SAT-9 examination.
An independent arbitrator in late July overturned charges against five Woodland High science teachers, reduced the charges against a sixth teacher, and upheld a board of trustees' decision against another. The school board had dropped charges against an eighth teacher earlier.
The teachers had been wrongfully disciplined by the school district more than a year ago for having unknowingly used the previous year's test as a practice exam in order to boost the scores of their students.
"To a large degree, I'd say the teachers were vindicated," says Janet Levers, president of the Woodland Education Association (WEA). "I think the arbitrator saw that there were no dishonest intentions on the part of the teachers. They didn't know they were using the real test. They had been coming from the right place."
The science department, like other departments at Woodland High School, had been under pressure that year to raise test scores in the school that had been labeled "low-performing." Levers says the department was left on its own to find study aids after the district's assessment director, for an unexplained reason, canceled an order for school test-preparation material.
"The teachers had no materials," says Levers. With nothing from the district, one veteran science instructor was asked by the department chair to assemble appropriate study material. A self-described "scrounger," the instructor found material among his own files as well as from another source - a stack of discarded library materials. The teacher put the material onto transparencies and distributed them to eight of the 10 teachers in the department who had requested them. The material became suspect, however, when another teacher flipped through the real test booklet and discovered that the questions were the same ones that were on the transparencies.
The teachers were accused of wrongdoing on April 3, 2000, and were placed on paid administrative leave. At the time, the district superintendent also went public with the charges in a press conference that appeared to assume guilt before the teachers had been investigated. But the district's actions resulted in strong public protests by teachers, students and the WEA.
By April 11, the district backtracked and the teachers were allowed to return to the classroom. A month later, following a district investigation, seven of the eight teachers received suspensions.
Represented by their union, the teachers appealed the district's decision to an independent arbitrator, who concluded this July that five of the seven teachers were not guilty of wrongdoing and that the district had not shown "just cause" for discipline. The suspension of the department chair was reduced from three days to one, while the five-day suspension of the instructor who had distributed the materials was upheld.
"We feel this is a vindication of our teachers, although it was unfortunate that one of the instructors got five days (of suspension). I believe the arbitrator was throwing the district a bone, because they could not have picked a more unlikely person. He is the most ethical, moral and upright person you are likely to find," says Levers.
While it was an ordeal for the teachers - who became the subject of national and international media attention as well as fodder for jokes by "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno - there were some lessons learned, says Levers.
"When a school district goes to prosecute its teachers, it needs to be careful. It needs to investigate thoroughly, and it must keep everything confidential. It was a no-brainer for the public to figure out who the district was talking about. The district completely violated the confidentiality of those teachers."
The teachers also learned never to go into any session that could result in disciplinary action without representation. Several of the teachers attended such a session without union or legal representation and later found their statements used against them.
Although the teachers were largely blameless, their lives and careers may have been forever altered, says Levers. Four of the 10 instructors in the Woodland High science department have since left, while at least three of the seven teachers have had their health compromised.
To a large extent, Levers also places blame for the incident on the relentless pressure put on the teachers to raise test scores. "These are very moral, ethical people. These are the kind of people who strive to make a high school a better place."
Still, she says, positive changes may result from the affair. The principal, who had not been supportive of the teachers, is no longer head of the school. The district is implementing a better system to help teachers with test preparation.
More than that, however, Levers thinks that some of the benefits of such programs as the state's class size reduction program will start being reflected in test scores of incoming students.
"I think the kids who are going to be coming into high school will be better prepared for these tests because of the attention they received as a result of smaller class sizes," she says. "Hopefully, they will be better prepared to read, comprehend and analyze the questions on these tests in the first place."
