Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools investigated 11 reports that teachers or other employees acted improperly during state testing last year. Only one, at Lake Wylie Elementary, involved a staffer trying to help students get answers right, the district's top testing official said Thursday.

In the wake of Atlanta's cheating scandal, the Observer asked CMS and the state for details on testing problems in the district. The documents provided leave some questions unanswered, but shine light on incidents that range from inadequate monitoring at Martin Middle to a teacher assistant trying to help fourth-graders answer reading and math questions at Lake Wylie.

Chris Cobitz, who is in charge of testing at CMS, said six employees, ranging from an assistant principal to a teacher assistant, were disciplined for violating testing ethics.

One teacher was suspended without pay for two weeks, and an "academic facilitator" - a teacher who serves in a semi-administrative role - resigned after being suspended with pay. The others got written reprimands or warnings.

Cobitz would not match the disciplinary actions with the seven investigations that yielded evidence of employee wrongdoing, saying that would breach confidentiality by identifying individuals.

Vanessa Jeter of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction gave more details on the Lake Wylie incident, based on a report CMS provided the state. She said a teacher assistant acting as a proctor - a monitor who is supposed to make sure the teacher giving the test follows the rules - provided help to students. No one was disciplined, she said, because that assistant and the teacher who was giving the test both lost their jobs to budget cuts.

Cobitz would not confirm those details, but said students reported that the proctor was doing something "along the lines of pointing to the correct answers."

Those test results were tossed out, and 11 Lake Wylie fourth-graders had to take another version of the reading and math exam.

Atlanta's cheating

In Atlanta, a state investigation released in July found rampant cheating by educators to boost schools' results, which led to faculty bonuses and national honors for the superintendent. The cheating was originally uncovered by the Atlanta Journal Constitution in 2009.

The state named 178 educators, including 38 principals, as violators, and said Superintendent Beverly Hall, who retired in June, ignored a culture of cheating and cover-ups.

More than 80 employees confessed. Some admitted taking students' completed tests offsite to erase wrong answers and pencil in correct ones.

This spring, CMS had disclosed that "irregularities" forced some students to retake state exams after the original testing was declared invalid. When pressed for details, Cobitz initially cited personnel confidentiality rules and declined to discuss the staff involved or the punishments given.

On July 12, the Observer filed a formal request under N.C. public records law. Wednesday evening, CMS emailed accounts of seven incidents that involved misdeeds by employees, as well as a list of disciplinary actions taken against an assistant principal, three teachers, two facilitators and a teacher assistant.

Cobitz said Thursday that four other incidents were investigated but yielded no evidence of employee failure.

All told, CMS reported 468 "irregularities" to the state last year, including 101 episodes of students getting sick and 39 of students having cell phones during exams. There were 33 reports of teachers giving students the wrong test - for instance, handing out the booklet for the wrong grade level. Cobitz said such incidents are reported even if they're quickly discovered and corrected.

The number of irregularities and investigations is similar to last year's, he said.

Safeguards in CMS

The fact that teachers, students and parents report so many incidents, even minor ones, is a sign that cheating isn't tolerated in Charlotte, Cobitz says. He said actions taken against those who breach the rules send a signal: "The people around me and the people above me have no tolerance for cheating."

High-school exams are scored the day kids take them, leaving no room for "cheating parties" such as those reported in Atlanta, he said. And he said the state examines random samples of answer sheets to check for excessive erasures or other signs that results have been altered.

Under Superintendent Peter Gorman, who resigned in June, CMS built a national reputation as a district that relies heavily on testing and knows how to use data. But in recent weeks, CMS has hit a number of snags: One of Garinger's small schools gave diplomas to 11 students, including the valedictorian, who hadn't met graduation requirements. Seven high schools didn't meet the state requirement for testing 95 percent of eligible students this year.

And Butler High failed to report 131 graduates to the state, leaving Cobitz to tell the school board this week that he isn't sure what CMS' 2011 graduation rate is.

Neither interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh nor Chief Academic Officer Ann Clark could be reached Thursday to talk about testing and data reliability.