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Posted on 06/14/2002 8:20:33 AM PDT by Brookhaven
ATLANTA — The Georgia Professional Standards Commission Thursday voted unanimously for a six-month suspension of James Hope’s teaching license.
While Gwinnett County Public Schools officials applauded the decision, saying it sent a “powerful message,” Hope announced plans to appeal.
The Centerville Elementary School teacher posted questions from GCPS’ Gateway test on the Internet in March of 2000, after administering the high-stakes test to his fourth-grade class.
“I am disappointed they didn’t see it my way,” Hope said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m not totally surprised.”
The PSC vote accepted the April recommendation of Administrative Law Judge Catherine Crawford, saying Hope’s actions violated Standard 4 of the code of ethics Georgia teachers agree to uphold.
The PSC said Standard 4 was violated in that Hope misrepresented himself by posting the questions even after signing a non-disclosure agreement that he would not divulge test information.
In spite of the suspension, Hope said he does not regret his decision to post what he said were ambiguous questions to an unnecessary test.
“I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I told the truth,” Hope said. “I guess my price for bucking the system is to get taken out of the classroom.”
The long-awaited decision is not the end of the battle — Hope and his lawyers intend to make use of their final appeal later this month, this time in front the Fulton County Superior Court.
“I am not backing up,” Hope said.
In a statement read by Charles “Buck” Buchanan, senior executive director to the superintendent, on behalf of absent GCPS Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks, the school system applauded the decision, and said it sends a “powerful message to parents, teachers and students” about the high ethical standards expected of educators in Georgia.
The statement also said no personnel action is likely to be taken while the legal process is pending. Hope will be permitted to teach while his appeal is in progress and has signed a contract with GCPS for the 2002-03 academic year.
Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Mick made the case for the state against Hope, reminding PSC members that the question at hand was not if the Gateway test was a good test or if it was subject to Georgia Open Records Laws — it was instead whether there was a violation of the code of ethics.
“In fact, it’s right on the money of what Standard 4 contemplates,” Mick said. “He set an example of dishonesty.”
Hope’s attorney, Terrance Thomas, argued that not only was the agreement Hope signed not legally binding, but the public had a right to know what was on the Gateway test.
“He had a right, under Georgia law to publish that test,” Thomas told the 18-member commission. “I will tell you what I think and what these people behind me think. And that’s that this man is a hero.”
Parents, students and colleagues turned out in support of the former teacher of the year from Centerville, jamming the hearing room and filling the downstairs lobby as they awaited the decision.
James Mulholland, 11, was a student of Hope’s in 2000, when the Gateway was first given and the teacher posted the questions.
“He did the right thing,” Mulholland said of his former teacher. “He should get to keep teaching.
“He said we would all pass, and he was right,” the student said. “He’s my favorite teacher. Ever.”
Gayle S. Putrich can be reached via email at gayle.putrich@gwinnettdailypost.com.
A few years ago the Gwinnett Co. school system initiated a program that required students to pass a standardized test before they can advance to the next grade. The failure rate is pretty low (and the kids get a chance to retake the test after summer school.)
Most of the parents and teachers seem pretty happy with the testing program. There is a small group that complains about the tests. Parents worried about their kids ego (or more likely worried they'll be embarassed if they have to tell their friends their kid had to repeat a year of school.) The strangest thing I heard a parent say was that it would hurt their child's chances of getting into college if their records showed they had failed a gateway test and had to repeat a year (how do they expect them to pass the admissions test for college if they can't pass the test to get out of high school?)
The most common thing you hear from teachers is they feel restricted in how they can teach because are forced to teach the subject matter that the students will be tested on.
Say what? I just received ITBS testing materials so I could give standardized tests to my homeschooled kids to check their progress for this year in basic studies. Right there in black and white is the admonition NOT to publicize the questions. It makes sense because it gives those who have seen the questions an unfair advantage in taking the test. If he doesn't like administering the tests, he should find a different line of work. Sounds like he's just bucking for attention; I hope he likes the kind he got!
Testing is a fact of life in schools, always has been. I liked the tests because I used them as a record of progress for my kids. I compared their results to their previous year's results, not to those of other children, even their siblings! Folks are getting torqued these days because the stakes are higher. But if the tests are anything like the MCAS here in MA, the bar for passing is so low, it is shameful that not EVERYONE passes it! And as far as 'teaching to the test' is concerned, in the lower grades, the information is basic and is something the kids should be taught anyway. When you get in to the higher grades, the tests cover what is typically taught at those grade levels in all public schools. That is the main reason that private schooled and homeschooled kids do not have to take the MCAS or any other state tests. We do not use the same curriculum as the public schools. In the case of homeschooled kids, we may not use any curriculum at all. Some may un-school, and some of us follow a Classical sequence which is nowhere NEAR what it used in public schools!
So what exactly were they teaching before? Math is math, and history is history (unless you are in liberal editing mode).
If most kids pass, and the failure rate is low, then the test is just about perfect for the population being tested. It should be a Bell curve. The flunkees can retake the test and rejoin their class, albeit with no summer vacation, (boo hoo!).
It is about time kids are made to toe the mark to matriculate into the next grade. Let'em see what the Japanese kids go through. That will shut them up quickly.
I probably have it.
If I missed a post below I apologize, but here are answers to some of the questions I saw.
Q. If a child is failing all core subjects, will they be promoted if the pass the Gateway (4th & 7th grade ONLY)?
A. Yes. GCPS promotion policy doesn’t require passing classroom grades. If it isn’t on their website yet, it will be updated soon.
Q. Has a child with failing classroom grades ever been promoted?
A. Yes. And GCPS officials know it. Subsequent to the document mentioned by Andrew, get “TAC Questions and Answers for the Board March, 2001”. It reads in part: “There are students that passed the 7th grade Gateway, but failed the school year. They are being promoted to 8th grade and are struggling considerably.”
Q. Have honors students failed the Gateway?
A. Last year .2% of Gateway failures were kids that made nothing lower than a “C” all year, although I don’t know how many were actually honor students. These cases go to automatic review by the BOE. In two thirds of these cases, the BOE waived the Gateway requirement. The remaining cases, kids had to retake the Gateway, but I don’t have the outcome. This information was in a press release and is available from GCPS.
Q. Is GCPS trying to keep parents from seeing their child’s Gateway test?
A. I say yes. You make up your own mind. Here are some facts:
* Parents may under NO circumstances get a copy of their child’s test. This includes the essay answers your child wrote.
* You may LOOK AT you kid’s test, if you sign a non-disclosure agreement where you agree not to discuss it with anyone (including teachers, your spouse - literally anyone). You must also agree that the test and your child’s answers, are a trade secret (see OCGA 16-8-13) owned by GCPS, and you are subject to 5 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine for violating the agreement.
I think this qualifies as keeping parents away from the Gateway. I have full documentation on GCPS letterhead for everything.
Q. Are the questions valid?
A. I have no idea. Based on my refusal to sign the non-disclosure agreement, I can’t see my son’s test.
Other documents I have which you may find of interest in forming your opinion are:
An expenditure of over $950,000 to replace the Gateway test leaked to the press in 2000, available from GCPS - page 148 of the Improvement Book FY2002 budget.
An official statement dated 01/24/2002 which reads “No document exists which reflects an effective date of a policy or decision to re-use items from the leaked test” - (available only from me).
A letter dated 01/09/2002 from GCPS attorney Victoria Sweeny to the Senior Assistant Attorney General which states “most and possibly all the items on Form B [the one leaked to the press] will be used in the future on the Gateway (also available only from me).
As a point of interest, the day after GCPS made this statement to the Attorney General (01/10/2002), they announced 2 of the 4 Gateway subtests would be discontinued. This is on the GCPS website.
Please email me for any additional documentation you’d like to see. Links to the resources mentioned above can be found at www.cpoga.org/links.html
Larry
That's one of the things that I as a parent like about the tests. You don't have to worry that one year your kid will get some indepenednt minded teacher who teaches what she wants instead of sticking to the standard course of study.
The PSC said Standard 4 was violated in that Hope misrepresented himself by posting the questions even after signing a non-disclosure agreement that he would not divulge test information.
That's the bottom line. However, this guy wants us all to see him as a "hero" because he "bucked the system."
The Legacy of the 60s goes on and on.
Or a Libertine.
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