Peekskill High Teacher Charged with Altering Exam Grades
A Peekskill High School teacher and chair of the Social Studies Department was charged Monday with altering the answer sheets for two separate Regents examinations in January.
Allison Risoli, 53, of Westchester Avenue, Peekskill, was arraigned on two counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, a Class E felony.
According to Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore, Risoli altered answers on the United States History and Government and Global History and Geography Regents exams. DiFiore said several days after Risoli delivered the original answer sheets for the exams and they were scanned and submitted to the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center she indicated there was a problem with a few of the student’s answer sheets.
After Risoli “reviewed” the original answer sheets, they were scanned again. However, a subsequent check of the original answer sheets with the sheets Risoli “reviewed” revealed two of the answer sheets had been changed and the alterations gave each of the students a passing score.
If convicted, Risoli could face a maximum sentence of four years in state prison on each count. She is due back in court on June 3.
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