EXAM SCANDAL ROCKS CITY’S TOP SCHOOL
Nab kid with pix of tests at Stuyvesant High
IN A STUNNING new cheating scandal at the city’s most prestigious public high school, a student has been forced out of Stuyvesant over allegations of using a cell phone to give test answers to more than 50 other students.
The student was caught photographing the citywide Spanish exam last week, the Daily News has learned.
A proctor who noticed the suspect behavior searched the boy’s phone and discovered the pupil also took pictures of his physics and English state Regents exams — and distributed the answers to classmates, sources said.
The junior was disciplined last week and will not be returning to Stuyvesant. The city Education Department would not discuss any specifics of the ongoing probe into the student’s shenanigans.
“The allegation of cheating is under investigation,” said Education Department spokeswoman Marge Feinberg.
The elite Stuyvesant High School in downtown Manhattan admits just the top tier of eighth-graders who ace the city’s exam for specialized high schools.
Each year, the school ships its graduates off to top colleges, and this year it boasted a third-place finish for the prestigious Intel prize — considered a junior Nobel award for scientific achievement.
The alumni rolls read like a who’s who of nationally recognized achievers, ranging from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to actor Tim Robbins.
The dozens of students who may have benefited from the cheating scandal have not yet been disciplined, sources said. Their parents have been notified. It’s not clear whether students solicited the answers and paid their classmate or whether he acted on his own initiative.
“Cheating only hurts the cheaters because they don’t learn,” bemoaned Jennifer Lam, 18, who graduated from the school on Monday.
State education officials said schools are required to report any irregularities on the Regents exams, which are required to earn a high school diploma.
State officials would not release any details of their probe, citing agency policy to release only verified incidents.
City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott is reportedly furious over the situation.
Mayor Bloomberg, who has faced fierce opposition to his ban on cell phones in schools, has justified it in part by citing problems with exam security.
The ban is difficult to enforce at large schools like Stuyvesant that do not have metal detectors.
Peter Galasinao, incoming PTA co-president at Stuyvesant, said cell phones at the school are strictly forbidden, but the administration doesn’t enforce the ban as long as the phones aren’t visible. “That’s fair and reasonable,” he said.
“Obviously, I’m not supportive of any kind of cheating,” said Galasinao. “It’s absolutely inappropriate and inexcusable.”