Pencil eraser marks — straying from an incorrect to a correct answer — has led to concerns of possible cheating in Georgia schools on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, better known as the CRCT.

A report conducted by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement points to the possibility on CRCT tests taken in 2009 by students in first through eighth grades.

The analysis focuses on the number of erasures that were changed from wrong to right answers in the areas of Reading, Language Arts and Math.

Schools were rated in four categories of concern based on the percentage of classrooms that higher-than-average erasures. The ratings are: “clear of concern” (0 to 5 percent); “minimal concern” (6 to 10 percent); “moderate concern” (11 to 24 percent); and “severe concern” (25 percent and more).

A test was flagged if it had many more erasures than the average for student’s peers. Nine schools on the list had more than 70 percent of classrooms with questionable test answer sheets.

All Calhoun City and Gordon County elementary and middle schools were in the “clear” category, meaning fewer than 5.4 percent of classrooms were flagged.

“We expect all of our teachers to administer tests and assessments appropriately and professionally,” said Michele Taylor, Calhoun City Schools Superintendent.

“If any unethical concerns were brought up to our attention, we would investigate as outlined in the Georgia Professional Standards Commission Code of Ethics,” she added.

Superintendent Bill McCown, of Gordon County Schools, explained that he wasn’t concerned that the report would show anything amiss with local with local CRCT testing.

“It was never a concern of ours, and we’ve followed all state procedures, and are completely confident,” McCown said.

McCown said the school system stresses the importance of the state testing standards, particularly Standard 11, which reads: “Testing — An educator shall administer state-mandated assessments fairly and ethically. Unethical conduct includes but it not limited to committing any act that breaches Test Security; and, compromising the integrity of the assessment.”

According to the Associated Press, more than a dozen school districts are expected to launch investigations after a state review showed possible cheating on standardized tests at about 20 percent of Georgia elementary and middle schools last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.