Cheating Scandal Erupts at Denver Elementary School

Listen Now

Denver Public Schools announced late this afternoon that it fired a principal for doctoring kids’ answers on standardized tests. The school is Beach Court Elementary in North Denver. And the principal is Frank Roti. This comes after a state investigation into cheating at Beach Court, and at a second DPS school, which today was cleared. That’s Hallett Fundamental Academy in the Park Hill neighborhood. District officials were careful to stress that teachers at Beach Court were not involved in the altering of tests. Now, the state wasn’t alone in pointing a finger at Beach Court. The school was also flagged by The Altanta Journal-Constitution. A nation-wide investigation by the newspaper found 200 districts where test results fluctuated abnormally from one year to the next. The list includes two districts in Colorado. Zachary Barr speaks with the paper’s editor Kevin Riley.

To see a list of the Colorado schools flagged for unusual test scores, click here.

[Photo: CPR]