Walton teacher disciplined for giving test answer

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — A Walton County teacher who gave her students the answer to a question on a standardized test last year has been formally disciplined by the state.

Gina Ealum, a former fourth grade Exceptional Student Education teacher at West DeFuniak Elementary School, administered the Florida Standards Assessment to her students on April 20, 2017.

She read and analyzed a math problem “beyond what was necessary to prove accommodations,” copied the problem onto a piece of paper and worked out the problem, according to documents from the Florida Education Practices Commission.

Two months before the test, Ealum signed a test administration and security agreement saying that she agreed to not read or review test items except to provide student accommodations.

According to the settlement reached with the Florida Department of Education on Sept. 18, Ealum’s teaching certificate has been suspended for six months and she will remain on probation for two years after she begins teaching again.

Conditions of her probation include paying fines to the Education Practices Commission, having her immediate supervisor provide the Department of Education with a copy of each written annual performance evaluation and being prohibited from administering or proctoring secured assessments without another administrator present.

Ealum is still listed as an ESE teacher on the school’s website.

Walton Superintendent of Schools Russell Hughes could not be reached for comment.