Law & Courts News in Brief

Educator Gets 7 Years in Cheating Scheme

By The Associated Press — May 21, 2013 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A longtime Memphis, Tenn., educator who helped teachers cheat on certification exams over a 15-year period was sentenced last week to seven years in federal prison.

Clarence Mumford, 59, pleaded guilty in February to arranging for people to take Praxis tests on behalf of aspiring teachers in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Teachers paid Mr. Mumford up to $3,000 each to hire ringers to take reading, writing, math, physical education, and other exams on their behalf. That fee included fake driver’s licenses Mr. Mumford made for the test-takers, who showed them to proctors at examination centers.

The teachers used the passing scores to get jobs in public schools.

The former guidance counselor and assistant principal paid the test-takers hundreds of dollars for each test. Still, federal prosecutors said he made $120,000 in the scheme, which ran from 1995 to 2010.

A version of this article appeared in the May 22, 2013 edition of Education Week as Educator Gets 7 Years In Cheating Scheme

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Law & Courts Supreme Court Case on Birthright Citizenship Sparks Fears for School Funding
The justices are weighing whether to allow nationwide injunctions of President Donald Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship.
5 min read
Hannah Liu, 26, of Washington, holds up a sign in support of birthright citizenship on May 15, 2025, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. "This is enshrined in the Constitution. My parents are Chinese immigrants," says Liu. "They came here on temporary visas so I derive my citizenship through birthright."
Hannah Liu, 26, of Washington, holds up a sign in support of birthright citizenship on May 15, 2025, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. "This is enshrined in the Constitution. My parents are Chinese immigrants," says Liu. "They came here on temporary visas so I derive my citizenship through birthright."
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts Opinion What the Supreme Court Case on LGBTQ+ Books Reminds Us About Parents’ Rights
Regardless of which side wins Mahmoud v. Taylor, we have a big problem.
Jamie Kudlats & Christopher D. Thomas
5 min read
Man and woman waiting around speech bubble hole
E+/Getty
Law & Courts Retired Justice Souter, Advocate for Civics and Church-State Split, Dies at 85
Retired Justice David Souter, who wrote Supreme Court opinions on student strip searches and government aid to religion, has died.
4 min read
Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter smiles during a new lecture series titled, "Constitutionally Speaking" on Sept. 14, 2012 in Concord, N.H. Souter spoke to more than 1,300 who packed a small theater to hear him.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, pictured participating a Sept. 14, 2012, lecture series on the U.S. Constitution in Concord, N.H., died May 8, 2025.
Jim Cole/AP
Law & Courts Trump Admin. Ends a Decades-Old School Desegregation Order—And Expects to End Others
Officials suggested that other desegregation orders dating to the Civil Rights Movement should be reconsidered.
5 min read
Students from Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C., ride a bus together, May 15, 1972.
Students from Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C., ride a bus together on May 15, 1972.
Harold L. Valentine/AP