William Fleming High School Principal Susan Willis and four other school administrators inappropriately kept 31 students with disabilities out of state tests over the past two years, according to a report from the Virginia Department of Education.

Administrators altered class schedules so that lower-performing students would not take Standards of Learning tests, the report said. That practice may have artificially boosted William Fleming's overall pass rates and made it more likely the school would meet state and federal benchmarks.

The reassignments kept 22 students from earning a standard or advanced high school diploma, since the tests are a requirement to earn the diplomas. Instead, they were awarded a lesser degree, known as a modified standard diploma.

Under the state code, school officials cannot make any changes to the education of a student with disabilities without the consent of the parents. In this case, the report said, the changes were made at the direction of school officials, without obtaining the necessary consent forms. The students' teachers were also not informed about the class changes.

The report found no testing irregularities in other schools. It also absolves members of the school system's central administration from responsibility, but points the finger at Willis.

"The administrators at William Fleming High School in the specific positions of principal, assistant principals (2), school testing coordinator, and special education department chair are responsible for the violations that occurred in this situation," the report said. "They were fully aware of the regulatory requirements and yet proceeded to change (or allowed to be changed) students' schedules in proximity to the testing windows. Evidence documents that the principal directed their course of action."

Superintendent Rita Bishop said the report was "disappointing and discouraging."

"We take allegations very seriously in everything we do," she said. "Apparent violations appear to be contained to a single school and should not reflect on the hard work of teachers at William Fleming and throughout the entire division."

Bishop would not say whether Willis would be present at William Fleming's graduation today.

According to the report, Fleming administrators compiled a list of students who were struggling in Algebra I, a course that requires SOL testing. Those students were then taken off the Algebra I rolls and placed on the rolls for Algebra I, Part I, a course that does not require SOL testing, even though the students remained in their original algebra class. Some of those students had already taken Algebra I, Part I.

Other students were moved from an 11th-grade English class to an 11th-grade reading class, which does not require SOL testing.

Special education students were not the only ones affected. Some general education students also found themselves listed in different courses, but state investigators looked only into the allegations surrounding special education students.

The report also found that 35 other students with disabilities who should have taken the SOL tests were excluded even though their class schedules did not change.

State officials received an anonymous tip early last month and sent a team of three investigators to Roanoke to interview teachers and administrators and examine student records. One teacher told investigators that special education students were being placed on a "special roll."

"No one told me why," the teacher said.

Other teachers said they had raised questions internally about shifting class schedules last year, but that nothing had been done. Teachers also said they were terrified of retribution from Willis.

"We live in an atmosphere of fear and in jeopardy of career retaliation," one teacher told the investigators, according to the report.

Over the past few years, William Fleming High School has seen an exodus of teachers, many of whom complained privately about the school's leadership. The school met state accreditation but did not meet federally mandated standards last year.

Willis has been principal of the school since 2005. She had previously worked as associate director for testing for the Roanoke County school system. She did not return a call for comment.

State tests, such as Virginia's SOL tests, have become increasingly significant since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. State education officials have found similar tampering with the tests in Stafford County and Richmond in recent years.

The report recommended the 22 students who were forced to take a modified standard diploma be given tutoring and be allowed to take the state tests. Other affected students should also be given tutoring to help them prepare for SOL tests, the report said.

The report also recommended that the city school system develop a way to track testing citywide.