WSBTV 2 ATLANTA

ATLANTA — Police say a suburban Atlanta principal and his assistant principal have been arrested in connection with an investigation into whether student test scores were altered to improve school performance.

Former Atherton Elementary principal James Berry was arrested at home Friday. Assistant principal Doretha Alexander turned herself in to police Thursday night and was later released on bond.

They face charges of altering public documents.

The arrests follow an audit last week that found a high number of eraser marks on tests from four Georgia schools, including Atherton.

State officials have said the higher scores helped the schools meet federal standards. Berry resigned last week, while Alexander was reassigned by district officials.

Neither has returned multiple calls seeking comment.The Governor’s Office of Student Achievements preliminary audit results revealed that someone deliberately changed students’ answers on the 5th grade CRCT math re-test.

DeKalb County school officials issued a statement on the findings, saying that the school system’s initial “internal investigation concluded that there was no evidence of irregularities” but they welcomed an investigation by the state.

That’s when the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement found someone changed the Atherton students’ answers on the math re-test.

Last week, DeKalb County school superintendent, Dr. Crawford Lewis, said, “The evidence presented was both compelling and troubling to me as superintendent of the DeKalb County School System. I assure you I am moving with great speed to address this matter internally.”

The state said the scores improved significantly by the changes.

At Atherton, the state found on average, answers were altered 21 times per student, the majority of the changes making them correct.

Other metro Atlanta schools being investigated are Deerwood Academy in Atlanta, and Parklane Elementary in Fulton County.