Court vindicates Georgia teacher who published parts of ‘secret’ test

By Larry Major

The nearly three year persecution of Gwinnett County, Georgia, teacher James Hope by school officials may finally be over.

On December 17, 2002, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Gail S. Tuscan ruled that Hope did not violate the teachers’ code of ethics when he posted six questions from the Gateway test — Gwinnett’s local high stakes test — on the Concerned Parents Of Gwinnett message board.

The saga began in April 2000, when Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) first administered the Gateway test in fourth and seventh grades.

James Hope, a fourth grade teacher at Centerville Elementary, watched helplessly as his students became upset when they saw the test. Some even started to cry, confused by poorly worded and ambiguous questions, when they feared they would fail fourth grade based on this single test.

School officials attempted to fire Hope, a 17-year veteran and a Teacher of the Year, because he posted test questions on the Internet from a flawed district-wide exam in April 2000. In December 2002, a judge overturned the Georgia Professional Standards Commission decision to suspend Hope. Judge Tuscan wrote, “Public policy dictates that Hope, an experienced 17-year veteran educator who works directly teaching and evaluating the very students to be tested, be able to actively participate in the public debate regarding the test and share with the concerned parties the benefit of his hands-on experience.”

“ I felt that putting young children through such unnecessary terror for the sake of a politically motivated, phony high-standards movement was abusive,” Hope said.

“ What was particularly frustrating, and what most people did not know, is that the passing scores had been set so low that virtually anyone could pass,” Hope added. “For instance, on the social studies portion of the test, a fourth-grade student needed 14 points out of a total of 59, or 23.7 percent, to earn a passing grade. Even though I had children crying because they thought they were going to fail the fourth grade despite all their hard work, I knew that everyone would pass but could not tell them that.”

School officials react to test criticism

Hope, and other teachers with similar experiences with the Gateway, prepared to voice their concerns at the next Board of Education meeting. Although the “public forum” portion of these meetings exists, in theory at least, to allow the public to voice opinions, school administrators said these teachers would not be allowed to criticize the Gateway.

Denied a voice by his employer, Hope turned to a public message board hosted by Concerned Parents Of Gwinnett, and posted six of the Gateway’s ridiculous questions in April 2000.

GCPS officials, particularly Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks, were outraged that one of “their” teachers would inform parents of flaws in their $9 million high stakes fiasco. GCPS claimed that both the Gateway test and student’s answers were “trade secrets” — to be kept secret even from parents.

Although the questions released by Hope would never be reused, Superintendent Wilbanks officially reprimanded Hope on March 1, 2001, calling his honesty with parents a “poor justification of your ethical breach,” and calling his methods “acts of concealment and deception.”

GCPS officials filed a complaint against Hope with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC), alleging a breech of the educators’ Code of Ethics. The PSC, appointed by Supt. Wilbanks’ buddy Governor Roy Barnes, determined that Hope should never teach again, and suggested in a July 19, 2001, letter that Hope voluntarily surrender his teaching certificate.

“ The reason that I think the school system was so determined to get rid of me is due to other action I have taken that shows the Gateway to be a bad test,” Hope said. “I am responsible for giving reporters information about the test. I voluntarily testified two times to Gwinnett grand juries about the inadequacies of Gateway testing.”

Harassment of dedicated teacher

Hope was also targeted by the GCPS police, a real police force which reports to Superintendent Wilbanks, as a suspect in the theft of a Gateway test that occurred prior to its first administration.

“ In the summer of 2000, a Gwinnett County school police officer visited my house three times, including on a Sunday, with gun on hip,” Hope narrated. “The school police tried to implicate me in the theft and dissemination of the Gateway before its 2000 administration. They did this, even though school police came to my school after the test had been stolen and found that the boxes of tests at my school were unopened and the shrink-wrap around the boxes untouched.

“ In September 2000, I was forced to take a lie detector test in Hall County. I found out during this interrogation that the school police had confiscated my phone records. They asked me about conversations I had with each teacher whose name appeared on my phone list and if I had spoken with them about the investigation.”

When Hope appealed the PSC’s decision, the public was outraged when Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter publicly admitted that the Gateway test thief was identified in the fall of 2000. Clearly, the continued “investigation” by GCPS police was no more than an intimidation tactic.

When Hope appeared before the PSC in December 2001, his attorney Terence Thomas, mounted a defense that caused the board to delay their decision, and seek a legal opinion from Judge Catherine Crawford.

Judge Crawford shocked the legal community in April 2002 by equating Hope’s release of obsolete test questions to altering test scores. Her recommendation to the PSC was to suspend Hope’s certification for six months (instead of revoking it).

Supporters speak out; PSC votes against Hope

Hope supporters literally flooded the PSC’s June 2002 meeting, where the PSC considered the prior evidence and Judge Crawford’s opinion.

Parents, students and friends of James Hope picketed the Georgia Professional Standards Commission’s June 2002 meeting, where the PSC voted against Hope. Students spoke about the dedication of their teacher. Matt O’Rear, now 21 and pursuing his doctorate, summed up the absurdity of the suspension: “I owe a lot to James Hope. Without a firm foundation, our kids have nothing. James Hope gives our kids that foundation. I say he was guilty 11 years ago, too, because he did the same thing for me.”

Thunderstorms caused the protesters to move indoors, but rain couldn’t dampen the crowd’s spirit. Students, parents and friends sported signs and routinely interrupted speakers with cheers and applause.

Hope supporters spanned all ages and walks of life. Speakers ranged from middle school students to District 61 State Representative candidate Terry Milton. The most notable support came from Hope’s students. Their overwhelming support speaks volumes about the dedication of their teacher. The excitement in the air was quite contagious, and even the youngest in the crowd willingly joined in by passing out flyers and buttons.

One speaker, long time Gateway opponent, Andrew Vollenweider, is doing more than speaking out — he’s running for the District IV school board seat. The incumbent, Robert McClure, is one of the people directly responsible for James Hope’s situation. Vollenweider’s platform consists of a wide range of issues, including eliminating the high-stakes Gateway, all in stark contrast to the incumbent’s dismal voting record.

Former Hope student, Matt O’Rear , now 21 and pursuing his doctorate, summed up the absurdity: “I owe a lot to James Hope. Without a firm foundation, our kids have nothing. James Hope gives our kids that foundation. I say he was guilty 11 years ago, too, because he did the same thing for me.”

Predictably, the PSC voted to follow Judge Crawford’s flawed opinion, and suspended Hope’s teaching certificate for six months — a ruling Hope appealed.

Charles Buchanan, then assistant to the superintendent, made the following comment regarding the PSC vote: “Gwinnett Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks applauds the Professional Standards Commission’s ruling in the case of James Hope as evidence that the education profession demands high ethical standards and integrity among its practitioners.”

Hope vindicated

Hope’s appeal to Fulton County Superior Court, which lies outside the political influence of GCPS, yielded a very different result. Judge Gail S. Tuscan reversed the previous decision.

“ Public policy dictates that Hope, an experienced 17-year veteran educator who works directly teaching and evaluating the very students to be tested, be able to actively participate in the public debate regarding the test and share with the concerned parties the benefit of his hands-on experience with the students, the test and its administration,” Judge Tuscan said.

She also noted that posting a few obsolete test questions was obviously not cheating.

The PSC will decide whether to accept the court’s ruling or appeal it at their January meeting. An appeal at this level is extremely rare, and under the circumstances, everyone expects the PSC to accept the ruling and end the nightmare.

Gwinnett parents say they will never lose Hope. See the Concerned Parents Of Georgia web site for more information (www.cpoga.org).