Thursday, July 27, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.
Immunity should be granted to teachers and other witnesses who testify about alleged test cheating in the Clark County School District, State Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, said Wednesday.
Williams wants teachers and others to address the issue before the Legislative Committee on Education, which he chairs. His request stems from allegations of inflated test scores and test coaching by a former Robert E. Lake Elementary School teacher.
"Teachers should have assurance, even though there is no whistle-blower law in Nevada for teachers," Williams said. "This is becoming very high profile. It's at the state level now, and I don't think the district would dare make any repercussions for anyone who comes forward."
In conjunction with requests made by the Alliance for Social Justice, a taxpayer group, Williams is calling for:
Allegations of test cheating and coaching by teachers were first raised June 26 by former Lake Elementary fourth grade teacher, Ramona Johnson, who noticed extreme differences in students' scores from one year to the next.
She suggested that her students, who had low scores on a national test and who had scored high on a district test the year before, had been taught the local test and given the answers. She also claimed that other teachers were coaching from the national test booklets, which are supposed to be kept under lock and key.
"This issue is far too important to be bogged down in personnel matters," said Patricia Cunningham, spokeswoman for the Alliance for Social Justice.
Cunningham was referring to comments made by school officials when Johnson raised the allegations. School officials called into question Johnson's method of preparing students for the national TerraNova exam after she was reprimanded for low scores.
Johnson's claims led to an investigation by the school officials, followed by involvement from the Office of the Attorney General and the Nevada Department of Education. On Friday the two state agencies confirmed they were stepping in on the probe being conducted by the Clark County School District, the nation's sixth largest.
Johnson has said she was harassed by school administrators after she blew the whistle on testing improprieties. She resigned her teaching position in June.
Additional concerns have been raised during the investigation, Williams said, although he would not elaborate.
"All of the pressure is finally off," Johnson said Wednesday, after handing over a TerraNova booklet and copies of the Curriculum-Based Assessment Program test to Williams. "I finally met someone who will listen."
Retrieving the TerraNova booklet was a key focus of the school district's investigation.
"The school district's position has been that she has not cooperated," Williams said. "I can't blame her because of the intimidation she suffered. I do not think it was her intent to violate any state law."
Once the investigation is complete, Williams plans to issue a report and make the findings public.
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