Teachers in Waterbury cheating review losing pay

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - Twelve teachers who participated in a cheating scheme that inflated test scores at a Connecticut school are losing 20 days of pay over the coming school year and performing 25 hours each of community service as after-school tutors.

The Republican-American of Waterbury reports the Hopeville Elementary School teachers' union and Waterbury administrators recently reached agreement on the punishments.

They stem from last spring's Connecticut Mastery Test scores, which inexplicably placed Hopeville at the top statewide. An investigation later found some teachers improperly coached students to change their wrong answers.

The state-led review implicated a reading teacher who has since retired and Hopeville's principal, who is fighting her dismissal in administrative hearings.

Waterbury officials are asking state education leaders not to revoke the 12 teachers' credentials, saying they consider the matter closed.