Little Havana Charter School Principal Accused Of FCAT Tampering
MIAMI (CBS4) - A Little Havana charter school principal is under investigation after school officials say he tampered with Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test booklets.
According to CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald, school attorney Carmen Calzon said Ramz Academy Charter School Principal Julio Carrera opened sealed test booklets, took handwritten notes on the questions and handed out "study guides" to teachers.
Teachers and school administrators are forbidden to see the questions before the official testing period begins. When the Ramz governing board learned of the violation, they alerted Miami-Dade School officials, who then alerted the state Department of Education.
"The plot to alter the test scores was foiled," Calzón said. "The important thing is that none of the kids were impacted. The tests that might have been compromised were never used."
Carrera has been suspended, as well as the middle school teacher and staff member charged with administering the FCAT.
The compromised tests were confiscated from Ramz by school officials late Friday. Because of the violation, students did not begin FCAT testing today like other schools in Florida. School officials hope to begin testing with new materials by the end of the week.
Ramz Academy opened in fall 2011. It serves about 200 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
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