Student says teacher's 'help' was actually cheating

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Amirah Tavares recently graduated from high school with plans of going to college and a new knowledge her former teacher’s ‘help’ was actually cheating.

In elementary school, Taveres received ‘help’ from a teacher on the Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT).

“If they see you struggling, they’ll try to help you,” she said about the teachers monitoring those tests many years ago. ”[They] tell you the answer is C if you’re struggling on one answer. If you’re struggling on another, the answer is B. So just the little answers that they give you . . . can cause a big change.”

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Tavares and her siblings all went to schools under the Atlanta cheating scandal investigation.

Tavares’ mother, Shawnna Hayes-Tavares, said the cheating scandal was cheating students out of their education.

“They’re cheating children out of life-long opportunities,” she said.

Hayes-Tavares said she knew something was up when her son’s scores went from high to poor when transferring schools.

“We’re talking about a 50 or 60 point drop in all of the areas where he met and exceeded (the CRCT) at Slater,” Hayes-Tavares said. “Of course you don’t want to believe it. You had good teachers. I felt like I’m a good parent. However… you can’t deny.”

As Amirah Tavares goes off to college, she is wondering if her academic accomplishments are really hers.

“I feel very sad inside, and I feel very hurt,” she said. “Considering I made it, I just graduated from 12th grade. I went from kindergarten through 12th grade, and I made it by myself. Then at the same time, I couldn’t even think if I did it by myself or not.”