Cheating in the Camden School District dates as far back as the 1980s, long before the 2005 school year now under state scrutiny, an Inquirer investigation has found.

For years, pockets of Camden teachers and administrators cultivated an informal culture of cheating to cope with growing pressure to boost test scores.

The cheating was orchestrated by administrators, principals, guidance counselors, teachers, and anyone else willing to cooperate, according to a dozen teachers who took part in or witnessed it, and half a dozen more who were told of such occurrences.

Their experiences span at least a third of the city's 29 schools and two decades, they said in interviews conducted during the last 10 months.

They said the not-so-subtle message conveyed by their superiors had been clear: Raise scores by any means necessary. Many interpreted that to mean cheat.

"It was the expectation for many years," said a current teacher with 17 years of experience at two city schools. "No one would ever tell you to cheat directly, but it was clear what the expectation was: The children had to do well."

She and others said the pressure had come from teachers, supervisors and principals. Some said the impetus had been the threatened takeover of the Camden schools in the 1980s. Others said it had accelerated in 2002 with the implementation of No Child Left Behind.

A former department chairman recalled when, in the mid-1990s, a teacher walked up and down aisles during testing and used answers written on his arms - 50 on one and 50 on the other - to help students. "There was a lot of cheating going on."

During the 2004-05 school year, a teacher at Cooper's Poynt Elementary - one of five schools identified by the state Department of Education as having suspiciously high scores - saw a guidance counselor changing students answers and asked why.

"If I don't do it, I won't have a job next year," the counselor replied.

Camden School Board President Philip E. Freeman said he was not surprised by The Inquirer's findings, given what he had learned in recent months.

Freeman said recent internal investigations, including of allegations of grade changing in two high schools, had confirmed a "culture inherent throughout the district that has been difficult to dissolve because it's been so deeply entrenched."

"We recognize that the problems began long before this current board," he said.

Jose E. Delgado, who served on the board for 18 years, ending in 2002, said at least one former teacher had recently confided to him that she was aware of cheating going back to 1987. She told The Inquirer that she had been given an advance copy of the test to help prepare students. While Delgado couldn't say how many teachers had confided in him, he did say he recalled that when the topic of cheating came up in group settings, teachers would nod their heads in agreement.

Initially, he said, he wrongly believed that teachers were carrying out cheating by themselves, but now he believes that others must have been involved because of test security. Only guidance counselors or principals have access to tests.

"I always thought it was just a few rogue people. Now that I think about it, that was a stupid thing for me to think," Delgado said.

For years, rumors about cheating were common, he said, but there was little hard evidence until now.

The Inquirer agreed to grant anonymity to current and former district personnel who would talk about cheating. Many feared reprisals, including the loss of their job and pension, and betraying friends.

The Inquirer also analyzed test results and reviewed documents, including separate state and school board investigations that corroborate the accounts.