DAYTON — City Day Community School, under state investigation for possibly cheating on Ohio achievement tests in 2006, saw its scores plummet in 2007 when testing there was monitored.

Last year, City Day jumped two steps from the bottom rating of academic emergency to continuous improvement on Ohio's five-step scale after huge test score gains.

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The Dayton Daily News first reported in February that 44 questions on practice tests taken by City Day students were identical or substantially the same as questions that appeared on the actual state exam they took just days later in March 2006.

On last August's report card, City Day made big gains. For instance, at sixth-grade math, no students passed in 2005 but 57 percent passed in 2006. No City Day students passed fourth-grade math in 2005, but 52 percent passed in 2006.

When the state tests were given in the spring of 2007 in the midst of a state investigation, the charter school's sponsor sent proctors. They sent one teacher home for allegedly taking notes on a state test to be given later in the week.

The 2007 report card show just 25 percent passing sixth-grade math and 9 percent passing fourth-grade math. In all, City Day's reading and math scores at grades four through seven dropped by at least 10 percent on seven of eight state tests.

City Day's sponsor, Education Resource Consultants of Ohio, dismissed its governing board in June and a new board fired Superintendent Roseda Goff, whom ERCO blamed for problems at the school.

Phyllis Brown, legal counsel to ERCO, said the sponsor had no further comment on the testing irregularities at City Day.

"We're glad there is a new and aggressive board that runs the school and we are hopeful that the scores will improve," she said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2485

or selliott@DaytonDailyNews.com.