Principal, teacher put on leave in test tampering case

SEATTLE (AP) — A teacher and principal are on leave for at least the rest of the school year as Seattle Public Schools officials continue a six-month-long investigation into test tampering at Beacon Hill International School.

The Seattle Times reports the district made the move, despite a lack of conclusive evidence, as state science testing approaches.

State officials became suspicious last spring when an unusually high proportion of students at the school passed math and reading. The scores were invalidated in October, and the district has spent $25,000 investigating whether someone erased incorrect answers or wrote responses to fill-in-the-blank questions.

Principal Po Tang will spend the rest of the year on leave, and bilingual teacher Judy Eng is out indefinitely for improper storage of tests and reading students' completed work.