RVC Schools Chief Responds to Cheating Report at Riverside

Rockville Centre Schools Superintendent Dr. William Johnson said Tuesday that the state Education Department “should have known better” when it cited Riverside School’s principal in a cheating incident.

Newsday [paid link] recently reported on 36 out of 60 complaints of cheating on state tests across Long Island that were "substantiated." The paper includes a 2009-10 instance at Riverside School: “Math. Principal reviewed test with faculty an hour before.”

While Johnson confirmed there was a complaint from a teacher, he said this wasn’t cheating. According to Johnson, teachers reviewing tests an hour before distribution to students was an “acceptable practice” prior to 2010, when the state changed the rules so tests couldn’t be opened beforehand.