Feds: Teachers schemed in certification test fraud

A sign for Educational Testing Services (ETS) is seen in Princeton, N.J., Nov. 17, 2012. ETS writes and administers Praxis teacher certification examinations. In one case, 52 teachers were charged with paying up to $1,000 apiece to a former ETS proctor to ensure a passing grade on teacher certification tests. / AP Photo/Mel Evans

MEMPHIS, Tenn. It was a brazen and surprisingly long-lived scheme, authorities said, to help aspiring public school teachers cheat on the tests they must pass to prove they are qualified to lead their classrooms.

For 15 years, teachers in three Southern states paid Clarence Mumford Sr. - himself a longtime educator - to send someone else to take the tests in their place, authorities said. Each time, Mumford received a fee of between $1,500 and $3,000 to send one of his test ringers with fake identification to the Praxis exam. In return, his customers got a passing grade and began their careers as cheaters, according to federal prosecutors in Memphis.

Authorities say the scheme affected hundreds - if not thousands - of public school students who ended up being taught by unqualified instructors.

Mumford faces more than 60 fraud and conspiracy charges that claim he created fake driver's licenses with the information of a teacher or an aspiring teacher and attached the photograph of a test-taker. Prospective teachers are accused of giving Mumford their Social Security numbers for him to make the fake identities.

The hired-test takers went to testing centers, showed the proctor the fake license, and passed the certification exam, prosecutors say. Then, the aspiring teacher used the test score to secure a job with a public school district, the indictment alleges. Fourteen people have been charged with mail and Social Security fraud, and four people have pleaded guilty to charges associated with the scheme.

Mumford "obtained tens of thousands of dollars" during the alleged conspiracy, which prosecutors say lasted from 1995 to 2010 in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Among those charged is former University of Tennessee and NFL wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, who is accused of employing a test-taker for a Praxis physical education exam. He was charged in late October with four counts of Social Security and mail fraud. He has pleaded not guilty and is out of jail on a $10,000 bond. He has been suspended by the Memphis City Schools system.

If convicted, Mumford could face between two and 20 years in prison on each count. The teachers face between two and 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.

Sample questions from an ETS Praxis science teacher certification test.

/ ETS

Lawyers for Mumford and Wilson did not return calls for comment.

Prosecutors and standardized test experts say students were hurt the most by the scheme because they were being taught by unqualified teachers. It also sheds some light on the nature of cheating and the lengths people go to in order to get ahead.

"As technology keeps advancing, there are more and more ways to cheat on tests of this kind," said Neal Kingston, director of the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation at the University of Kansas. "There's a never-ending war between those who try to maintain standards and those who are looking out for their own interests."

Cheating on standardized tests is not new, and it can be as simple as looking at the other person's test sheet. The Internet and cell phones have made it easier for students to cheat in a variety of ways. In the past few years, investigations into cheating on standardized tests for K-12 students have surfaced in Atlanta, New York and El Paso, Texas.

Still, most of the recent test-taking scandals involved students taking tests, not people taking teacher certification exams. Cheating scams involving teacher certification tests are more unusual, said Robert Schaeffer, public education director for the National Center for Fair & Open Testing.

Schaeffer notes that a large-scale scandal involving teacher certification tests was discovered in 2000, also in the South. In that case, 52 teachers were charged with paying up to $1,000 apiece to a former Educational Testing Services proctor to ensure a passing grade on teacher certification tests.

Teachers from Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi took tests through Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark., in 1998. The college was not accused of wrongdoing.

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[Libra2u]

Take it from a middle and high school teacher who's seen it all; a lot of kids do the minimum then resort to cheating to pass high school (if they even care). If you call them on it, some schools' administrators will cave to avoid protests and lawsuits. They then cheat in college, get a degree, and lie on resumes to get a job. Some even become politicians!

We need to raise standards immediately starting with kindergarten. Parents need to be involved. Kids need consequences for bad behavior.

[Jaylah54200]

Red states.

Does this surprise anyone?

[K8Tchr]

I think that many are missing the issue. The issue isn't the rationale behind the test or agendas, if any, regarding the motivations of administering such a test. The fact is that someone abused their position and committed a crime knowing that what he was doing was not only dishonest, but that it could potentially affect thousands of students. Additionally, it sheds a negative light on the individuals (me being one) who work every day to instill good ethics and citizenship to our students and demonstrate those traits in the community. Most of us (public school teachers) try our very best to model positive characteristics. Unfortunately, it's those few 'bad apples' that receive the attention.

[The_pragmatist2]

No way! Corruption exists in our public education system too??

[hypnotoad72]

There's corruption all over the place.

Some of us "liberals" have never exactly suggested there wasn't any, but noting how many people like to think for-profit entities can never do any wrong (but seem to continue to get away with it), that's why we focus more emphasis in that area.

Until we get more honest politicians elected that actually give a darn and won't sell out, don't expect change.

[PourpaixPourpaix]

Oh, come on! An athlete needed to hire a ringer in order to pass a Phys Ed exam? Really? I think we have a winner in the contest of defining stump-stupid.

[Scimajor]

Unfortunately there are cheaters in all walks of life. This is just another example. I hope the people involved get the maximum possible sentences.

What cracks me up though, is that the test they cheated on is just one of several tests teachers must take to prove competency and it's by far the EASIEST. If those perspective teachers couldn't pass THAT test then how did they get a degree in the first place?????

Thankfully most of these people would get canned in the first two years anyway as the first two years of employment even with the union is "at will employment" and their lack of writing skills would immediately become obvious.

[hypnotoad72]

They got a degree as put out by a college that:

a) didn't care, just pass the college students through
b1) inflated grades because administrators get more money from the Feds as a result
b2) used a curve instead of a straight scoring system
c) looked the other way at corruption, especially if losing a warm body meant loss of profit
d) more than one of the above when all is said and done

P.S. Why do you mention "union"? Plenty of for-profit, non-unionized agencies are just as sleazy. And a teacher needs more than just a high school diploma... In short, why not look at the WHOLE of the situation, or are you content just to scapegoat?

[obicera1]

Question 1. Who is the ancestor of man?
a. Chimpanzee
b. God
Question 2. How old is the Earth?
a. 4.5 billion years
b. 6000 years

Now do you see why they had to cheat?

[luadda22]

Based on your example, they would have to cheat. How can you pass a test that contains no right answers? Both questions you have listed are considered a provisional hypothesis. Therefore your listed answers cannot be accepted as a correct answer either. In fact, the questions you asked don't have a single verifiable and totally correct answer.

You're a sad, angry little person aren't you? Or are you just trying a very poor attempt at humor? However I'll submit my own hypothesis and bet that you voted for Obama.

[obicera1]

There are two right answers, a and a.

And no, I'm not a sad, angry person. In fact I'm laughing at your response right now.

[nfission235]

Why should you have to prove you are worthy of teaching after you've already graduated? ETS is a scam just like many board certifications, they're just tests to pad the pockets of companies that aren't needed. Those tests are expensive and you cannot even consult with anyone if you fail. You can't find out what you even failed at. ETS is in New Jersey and you take the test in Arkansas who are going to discuss your test score with? No one, it's a load of crap and everybody knows it that's why they cheated the cheaters.

[nfission235]

Just because they didn't take a Praxis exam, which is bogus in the first place, doesn't mean they are unqualified to teach. They have the education and Praxis cheats graduated students out of jobs.

[bobnjersey]

[Monfredo, who passed all her tests and is not involved in the fraud case, said the exams she took were relatively easy for someone who has a high school education. ]
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not if the questions were similar to the examples shown in this story.

ohm's law, chemistry reaction equations?

these aren't 'easy' unless you have specific knowledge in that area.

[displeased2]

Those examples are from a science teacher's test, so they should have specific knowledge in that area.

[PourpaixPourpaix]

Actually, those are high school level knowledge questions.