CRCT Investigation Report: Hutchinson Elementary School | Schools

Hutchinson Elementary School
650 Cleveland Avenue
Principal: Dr. Rebecca Dashiell-Mitchell
Testing Coordinator: David Brown
SRT-2 Executive Director: Michael Pitts

ATLANTA -- Nearly half the classrooms at Hutchinson Elementary School were flagged for cheating on the 2009 CRCT, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Governor's Special Investigators who looked into the cheating allegations concluded that the number dropped from 47 percent to less than two percent when state monitors were present during the 2010 test. (248)

Teacher Hau Nguyen admitted to cheating by assisting students with "every fifth question or so." His proctor, Yolanda Udoh, denied witnessing the cheating, although Nguyen believed she "must have noticed what he was doing."

Another teacher, Marly Gregoire, said she suspected Nguyen cheated "because his students achieved near perfect pass rates on the test." (249)

When questioned by investigators, principal Rebecca Dashiell-Mitchell denied cheating. She recanted when a GBI agent produced a copy of a questionnaire regarding answer sheet erasures that she handed out to the faculty. Dashiell-Mitchell claimed that she did not keep the teachers' completed questionnaires.

The report concludes that Dashiell-Mitchell failed in "ensuring the ethical administration of, and proper security for, the 2009 CRCT." (250)

Rebecca Dashiell-Mitchell is still principal of Hutchinson Elementary, according to the school's website.

Read the full investigation here
Atlanta Public Schools CRCT Investigation