D.C. Finds Cheating on Tests at 11 Schools

District of Columbia schools officials said they've found cheating at 11 schools during the past school year.

The District's Office of the State Superintendent released results Friday from its annual audit of standardized testing in the city. It says “critical violations” of testing integrity were found at seven public schools and four charter schools. Test results from those schools will be thrown out.

The audit was released on the same day it was revealed that city school officials knew in early 2009 about possible widespread cheating. An internal memo shows that an analyst found 191 teachers at 70 schools may have erased their students' wrong answers and filled in the right ones.

Investigations by inspectors general for the District and the U.S. Education Department found isolated cheating but not to the extent suggested by the erasure rates. One teacher was fired for cheating.

School officials said in a statement that the memo was based on incomplete information and flawed methodology.

The memo was obtained by journalist John Merrow, who shared it with The Associated Press. USA Today was first to report the memo's contents.