Former Principal Gets Probation for Taking Test for Student

A former Missouri high school principal has been convicted of taking a college placement test for a former student.

The Daily American Republic reports that Ronald W. McCutchen entered an Alford plea this month to a misdemeanor identity theft charge. Through the plea, the former Doniphan High School principal didn't admit guilt but conceded that prosecutors had enough evidence to gain a conviction.

A Howell County judge sentenced the 54-year-old Park Hills man to two years' unsupervised probation. McCutchen also surrendered his teaching certificate.

Court records say a student told a school resource officer that McCutchen took the test for him last year so he could get a better score. The student earned scholarship money because of his score, but said he felt guilty and didn't attend Three Rivers.