Ubah charter school considered reprimand over compromised testing

The board of a Hopkins charter school discussed reprimanding a staff member after its state test results were compromised.

The minutes of the Ubah Medical Academy board meeting in July do not name the individual to be reprimanded. But a school report to the Minnesota Department of Education lists short-lived Washburn High School Principal Patrick Exner as the school's assessment coordinator.

Exner was removed as Washburn principal after an anonymous e-mail accused him of changing the answers of three students on the state GRAD test in June. Exner has denied the accusation, but a Ubah staff member told the Star Tribune of witnessing Exner changing answers.

According to Ubah board minutes, school director Musa Farah said that the school's test results had been compromised. "I am recommending the person concerned be reprimanded and excused from all test-related activities," the minutes say. Farah said that there had been "improper proctoring," and that the test results had been invalidated.

The board voted to defer action to Farah. He reported the testing violation to the Minnesota Department of Education more than five weeks after it occurred and 10 days after the board meeting.

It remains unclear whether Exner was reprimanded. The law requires public employers to release disciplinary action after "final disposition," but that has not yet occurred, board Chairman Abdirashid Warsame said in response to a Star Tribune Data Practices Act request.