Florida teacher resigns after leaving answers on classroom walls during assessment tests

Isaac Anderson, a 40-year-old teacher at Spoto High School in the Tampa suburb of Riverview, told administrators he believed test security rules only applied to state exams, and not for those given by the district, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Anderson resigned in April after an investigation was launched by school administrators to determine why students scored much higher in December testing in Anderson’s U.S. history classes than they had in previous exams, the newspaper reported.

Florida schools are graded annually on an "A" to "F" basis, based on graduation rates and test scores. Achievement Schools are schools that have a grade of "C" or lower for three consecutive years and have a graduation rate below 85%, according to the Hillsborough County School District website.

Because Spoto is one of the schools in Hillsborough County designated as an Achievement School, teachers give students uniform tests known as common assessments every semester to ensure they are prepared for district exams in December and state exams in the spring, the Times reported.

According to the newspaper, resource teacher Cherie Miller and social studies department chairman Ross Webster noticed the higher scores from Anderson’s history students and shared the results with district officials.

Previously, the passing rate for Anderson's students was less than 50%, but on the semester exam the number jumped to 59.7 percent, the Times reported.

After an investigation was launched, four students agreed to cooperate with officials. Two wrote Anderson gave out two or three answers during the exam because he had not covered the material, the newspaper reported. The other two students wrote Anderson left posters containing the answers to test questions on classroom walls.

According to the Times, Anderson was "very candid" when he was interviewed by testing supervisors March 12. According to a report by the supervisors, Anderson said he had left posters up for regular tests, removing them for state exams. He said he had not been able to cover all of the material that would be included in the semester exam.

"He was adamant that he did not think the semester exam was as 'big a deal' as the state tests that are given,'" the Times reported, citing the test supervisors' report.

The newspaper said it has been unable to reach Anderson for a comment.