An Ohio teacher accused of instructing her gifted students to fail an exam has reportedly resigned.
Heather Campbell, 39, was in her second year teaching fifth- and sixth-grade students at Waggoner Road Junior High School, the Columbus Dispatch reports. District investigators said Campbell encouraged student to fail a science pretest by drawing pictures of a cat or rock or to answer the question using texting shorthand such as LOL.
The investigation was launched in September after a parent called the school when her child said Campbell asked the class to “do poorly” on the pretest. Of the 68 tests, 54 were considered “not sufficient attempts,” mostly because students scribbled or drew pictures in the short-answer response questions, the newspaper reports.
Superintendent Steve Dackin told the newspaper it was unclear whether Campbell urged her students to underperform on the test since it was tied to her evaluation.
“If that would have maintained the course ... theoretically, she would have benefited because it would have been reflected in her scores” if another assessment was given later in the year and the students did better, Dackin said.
Attempts to reach Campbell, who has previously denied the claims, were unsuccessful.
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