100 Broward students under investigation for possible FCAT cheating

[JohnLocke]

100 Broward students under investigation for possible FCAT cheating
By Jamie Malernee -- Sun-Sentinel
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
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He had his cap and gown, his silver cord for outstanding community service, even an orange cord for earning a 3.0 grade-point average.
The only thing missing Monday, when 17-year-old Alvaro Plazas walked across the stage to accept his diploma from Piper High, was the diploma itself.
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For Plazas, who came to the United States from Colombia five years ago and has learned English in that time, this is a roadblock to college he never imagined. Piper High's principal has defended the eight students at his Sunrise school whose scores have been flagged. He says they are being punished for improving by large amounts that others find suspicious.
Government teacher Mike Infinger says there is nothing suspicious about the improvement he has seen in Plazas.
"I would stake my teaching certificate on him not cheating," said Infinger, who wrote to Tallahassee on behalf of Plazas. "This is my 15th year teaching and he would have to be in my Top 10 students in terms of being responsible, polite and hardworking."
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Piper's principal Anthony Taylor has said none of the eight students flagged at his school were sitting next to each other, or even knew each other. District officials have said that no teachers have been pulled from the classroom for test tampering.
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Plazas' parents, who speak little English, don't understand why the state is taking so long to investigate the irregular patterns. The father works two jobs, one driving a forklift and another stocking grocery shelves, and wants more for his son. "He studied hard and earns nothing," complained Alvaro Plazas Sr. in Spanish.
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Regardless of what happened at Piper, Infinger says the reviews should have been finished by now.
"It's a shame," he said. "To the people in Tallahassee, these kids don't have a face."
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Read the rest here.
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Welcome to Jeb's Florida, and Bush's America.