The Camden school board last night suspended with pay Roger M. Robinson, who was responsible for overseeing all testing across South Jersey's largest public school system.

Robinson denied to investigators that he tampered with the answer folders and denied any knowledge of tampering by others, according to the report.

The board voted 7-0 in closed session to suspend Robinson, who made no public comments and did not meet with the board.

"My lawyers will take care of this," Robinson said later.

The board's action came after it received a long-awaited report from its investigator, Edward F. Borden Jr., who concluded that "illicit tampering" boosted test results at the Dr. Charles E. Brimm Medical Arts High.

Joseph Carruth, the former principal, said late last night: "I stand by my account of what happened. I was told to cheat by [Assistant Superintendent Luis] Pagan. I told [Board President Philip E.] Freeman about it." Both deny it.

Borden's findings are the latest in a burgeoning cheating scandal that became public last March after The Inquirer questioned unusually high elementary scores and revealed Carruth's charges that he had been pressured to cheat. A separate Inquirer investigation also revealed that Camden has operated under a culture of cheating that dates to the 1980s.

Borden's report marks the first time that an investigation has determined that Brimm's suspiciously high scores were manipulated and the first time someone from the central office has been accused of playing a role.

The report calls "untrue" Carruth's allegations that he was pressured by Pagan to change the math test answers. Carruth, in an interview last March, said he told Pagan he refused to do it. Pagan has publicly insisted that such a conversation never happened. Carruth, Pagan and others have "each been less than fully candid" with Borden and other investigators, the report said.

Borden cited seven reasons and several inconsistencies in Carruth's accounts - but no evidence - that led him to conclude that Carruth should not be believed.

However, Borden noted that his findings supported Carruth's theory that the test tampering likely occurred when the answer sheets were sent from Brimm to the central office.

Based on information gathered during an 10-month investigation, Borden outlined how the test rigging allegedly occurred.

After the answer booklets were sent to Robinson's office on March 8 and 9, 2005, "Robinson and others either changed answers entered by students or inserted correct answers for questions students had not answered," the report said.

In 2004-05, Brimm was among the top performing schools in the region when 92 percent of its 11th graders were proficient in math on the state's High School Proficiency Exam.

After the state sent monitors to oversee testing last spring, 75 percent scored proficient, a drop of 17 percentage points.

Robinson allegedly failed to follow test security protocols and "participated in or facilitated the tampering," according to the report.

No one else was implicated in the report, which will be turned over to the appropriate authorities, officials said. The report has been requested by state investigators conducting a criminal probe into the test scores and a state grand jury.

In a separate report, the state Department of Education in August said the "sudden" increase in Brimm's 2005 scores and the 2006 decrease "cause serious concern" about the validity of the scores. The investigation was inconclusive on Carruth's allegations about Pagan.

Borden's report found that principals were under tremendous pressure to improve test scores during the 2004-05 school year, largely due to the federal No Child Left Behind law, which sets benchmarks for math and language arts scores.

"From the superintendent through the assistant superintendent, to the principals, a clear message was communicated" that performance on standardized tests "would be a substantial factor in decisions on continued employment," the report said.

Carruth said he was surprised but "disheartened" by Borden's report.

"I don't know how he can conclude that my statements were not true," Carruth said last night. "If they're saying there was pressure from [former Superintendent Annette D.] Knox on down to keep scores high, it's like he's saying two different things."

Camden's state standardized test scores for the 2004-05 school year came under scrutiny in February when The Inquirer questioned suspiciously high results at two elementary schools.

The state, addressing those concerns in a report on its investigation in August, blamed "adult interference" for high scores at those two schools. The state did not accuse anyone of cheating. It singled out the two elementary schools' principals and a literacy coach for pressuring teachers to ignore rules.

Specifically, it said H.B. Wilson Elementary School principal Michael Hailey had directed teachers "to do everything necessary to have students pass the tests." Hailey denied to investigators that there had been breaches of test security, but has declined public comment.

A state grand jury is conducting a wide-ranging probe into Camden including cheating allegations, spending, and bonuses received by Knox. Knox has maintained that the scores are legitimate, and that she followed spending and bonus procedures as she understood them.

The investigators are asking about when alleged cheating began to surface, teachers who have been interviewed say. The district has turned over thousands of documents.

Several teachers from H.B. Wilson and U.S. Wiggins have been called to testify Monday before the grand jury in Trenton, according to a teacher who received a subpoena.

The probe appears to focus on the dramatic drops in scores between 2005 and 2006, when the state sent monitors to oversee the tests, according to several people who spoke with state investigators. Charges could include official misconduct and tampering with records.

After the state sent monitors to oversee security during tests administered in March 2006, math and language arts scores plummeted in the district.

Carruth contends that Pagan summoned him to his office in January 2005. Carruth said Pagan told him to slice open a copy of the test, develop an answer key, and change wrong answers after students took the test.

Carruth has said that he did not participate in the alleged scheme, and that he contacted state officials because he feared the same thing could happen in 2006.

Pagan has denied the accusation and maintained that he never spoke with Carruth about rigging results.

The goal was to improve the passing rate in math over the previous year. Carruth later said he found the 2005 results suspicious: Brimm posted a 21-point gain in math in 2005 from the previous year.

The Camden County Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation of Carruth's allegations in the summer but never released any results, according to those familiar with it.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act has put tremendous pressure on school districts to improve test scores, and failure to improve can result in a state takeover. In the fall, the state labeled Camden a failing district due to low test scores.

Brimm, a magnet school for students interested in medical careers, has graduated some of Camden's top students.

Borden publicly praised the Brimm students who were not implicated in any of the cheating allegations. "There is much to be proud of at Brimm and that should not be lost in these findings," he said.

In November, the school board filed charges that could lead to the firing of Frederick Clayton, a suspended Brimm guidance counselor accused of changing 200 grades on transcripts. It suspended Camden High principal Al Davis last month amid a probe into allegations that he was involved in changing grades for athletes.

Borden's report released yesterday focused only on Brimm's 2005 test scores. A separate report addressed test security breaches at Sumner Elementary.

Carruth was fired by the board in June. Borden's report described Carruth as a "mediocre" principal and said the board was justified in terminating him.

The district paid Borden $90,000 for the report, and Freeman said it was "well worth it."

What the Brimm Probe Found

"Illicit tampering" in the 2004 and 2005 testing.

Lax security procedures, an unexplained absence of test-tracking documents, and a failure to follow security protocols.

Roger Robinson, the district official in charge of all testing, "participated in or facilitated the tampering."

No evidence to support principal Joseph Carruth's allegations that he was pressured to cheat.

Camden was justified in not renewing Carruth's contract.

Brimm scheduler Paula Veggian deserved praise for her courage and integrity in blowing the whistle on grade-fixing.

How the Scandal Unfolded

February: Former principal Joseph Carruth tells a county prosecutor that he was pressured to cheat; no criminal wrongdoing is found.

March 3: The Inquirer reveals that Carruth told officials about pressure to cheat.

March 20: The school board hires Edward F. Borden Jr., a former Camden County prosecutor, to investigate.

March 26: Carruth tells The Inquirer that Assistant Superintendent Luis Pagan gave him step-by-step instructions. Pagan denies it.

Aug. 15: A state investigative report is inconclusive on Carruth's allegations but says the test-score declines from 2005 to 2006 "cause serious concern."

Read the Camden School District report, stories on the test-score scandal, and listen to a March interview with ex-principal Joseph Carruth at http://go.philly.com/camdenscores

For past stories in the Camden test-score scandal and to listen to a March interview with former principal Joseph Carruth, go to http://go.philly.com/camdenscores