A new report from the federal General Accountability Office examines states' policies and procedures around accountability testing; how states ensure that districts and schools follow test-security policies; how often cheating by school officials has been identified as part of this oversight; and what assistance states rely upon for test-security issues. Researchers surveyed administrators in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. All states reported policies that included 50 percent or more of leading practices around security planning, training, security breaches, test administration, and protecting secure materials. States varied in the extent to which they incorporated certain categories of practices. For example, 22 states undertook all leading practices for security training, but four states undertook none. Many officials reported feeling vulnerable to cheating at some point during the testing process. To detect cheating, states use statistical analyses of student data, monitoring, and audits of testing procedures. Forty states reported cheating allegations within the past two years, and 33 states confirmed at least one instance. Thirty-two states canceled, invalidated, or nullified test scores because of cheating. Officials from a majority of states said it would be useful if the U.S. Department of Education (ED) gathered and disseminated information on test-security best practices, and ED has since released a report containing opinions of experts around best practices and policies. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.