Cobble Hill letter to klein - Special Commissioner of Investigation

Hon. J. I. Klein -12- June 26, 2007
9 th “George’s reaction to Mr. Nobile’s March 9, 2004, memo which contained many
new details of the alleged cheating in 2003.” According to the report, George said
he did not interview the teachers about the new memo because it was “‘the same
as the February 25 memo, the same. … I felt I did not have to.’” Scarcella
concluded that “Mr. George’s claim that the two memos were the same is
demonstrably false.” 49
10 th “The tenth matter concerned Mr. Cohen.” 50 Scarcella noted that on May 5, 2004,
George presented Cohen “as a credible witness.” 51 Scarcella then described
Cohen as an “admitted Regents cheater.” To support his conclusion, Scarcella
pointed to an e-mail exchange between Cohen and Nobile. 52
11 th George’s May 5, 2004, “description of Ms. Capra as a ‘very liberal scorer’ on
Regents exams.” 53 According to the report, in the September interview, Scarcella
pointed to the NYSED’s “strict guidelines for scoring Regents exams, including
detailed rubrics for the essays in order to eliminate bias in either direction.” 54
Scarcella concluded: “George knew that Ms. Capra had a scoring bias.”
Scarcella found George’s answer, “[i]t’s subjective,” to be “vague and nonresponsive.”
12 th The final matter related to George’s May 5, 2004, “claim that he believed Ms.
Capra and her marking committee stayed within the guidelines for administering
and scoring Regents exams in 2003.” Scarcella concluded: “With knowledge of
Mr. Nobile’s detailed written accusations, and Mr. Swords [sic] doubts, and
copies of incriminating email admissions of tampering from Ms. Capra, Mr.
Cohen, and Mr. Leardi, Mr. George’s claim … has little basis for fact.” 55
SCI did not question George or seek to take testimony from him.
49 A review of the March 9, 2004, memo revealed that it did not raise any new improper scoring allegations.
50 Scarcella was referring to Cobble Hill Teacher Elliot Cohen whose testimony at SCI is detailed later in
this report.
51 In contrast, at the George proceeding, Scarcella testified that George did not present Cohen as a credible
witness. See the transcript at pages 845 and 846.
52 The arbitrator of George’s disciplinary hearing disagreed with Scarcella’s assessment. See section The
Nobile – Cohen e-mail Exchange herein.
53 There is a difference between being liberal and cheating.
54 The scoring procedure, which anticipates differences of opinion, allows for several readers to review the
exams.
55 There were no e-mail admissions of tampering by Capra or Cohen, Swords was not a witness, and
Nobile’s “detailed written accusations” had little basis in fact.