Best practice in test security
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Transcript of Best practice in test security
Best Practices in Test SecurityWyoming Law Conference 2015
Today’s Meet
• For today’s presentation materials and to ask questions or chat with me go to
• https://todaysmeet.com/MS2TestSecurity
The ugly side of accountability
The higher the stakes the higher the chances for corruption!
Hypothetical Discussion 1
You are the District Test Coordinator. A middle school parent calls you and reports that her child says the tests from the 7th grade state assessment were the same problems they practiced in class the week before.Before you can fully investigate, you receive a call from the state department that one of your board members has turned the school in for cheating.What do you do?
Las Vegas
• Cheating Teachers Caused School’s Scores to Skyrocket
• Changed student answer sheets
Atlanta
• 35 indicted• 12 administrators, educators on trial• Alleged to have cheated, lied and stole as a
cleverly disguised conspiracy to inflate state test scores
• High pressure culture
Columbus
• State investigation of district reveals “top-down culture of data manipulation and employee intimidation”
• Changed test scores and grades
El Paso
• Superintendent pleads guilty to inflating district test scores by holding back low performing students and forcing others to drop out
Philadelphia
• Three principals fired for test cheating• Wrong to right erasures on tests reveal
patterns
L.A. County
• 5 school districts stripped of scores on state test
• Claims of cheating, misconduct or mistakes in handling standardized tests
Peoria
• Staff members at charter school admitted to directing special education students to erase answers on state standardized tests
• Staff admits to erasing some answers themselves
New Orleans
• 33 schools flagged for possible cheating• Plagiarism, improper test proctoring, excessive
changed answers
Best Practice 1
• Define cheating and irregularities– Erase or changing an answer– Filling in blank answers– Providing correct answers– Excluding students with poor performance on test days– Cueing students on incorrect answers– Talking students through definitions and processes– Giving extra time for students who don’t have
accommodations in the IEP
Best Practice 2
• Provide professional development on test administration
• Have teachers sign an attendance sheet • Make sure those who are absent receive a
makeup session• Attach the agenda for the testing workshop to
the attendance form and file it away – it may protect you later
Best Practice 3
• Assign a test coordinator at each school who…– Develops policies and procedures– Schedules a limited time for testing– Administers tests in “controlled and secure”
settings
Best Practice 4
• Develop Chain of Custody– Limit access to tests– Inventory and/or audit test booklets– Keep record of who, when and where materials
were accessed from a secure location– Remove test materials immediately and score off-
site– Securely lock materials after each test day is
completed
Best Practice 5
• Monitor test administration– Train proctors– Have at least two adults trained to proctor in each
testing room– Monitor the tests during the scheduled times
Best Practice 6
• Conduct comprehensive integrity analysis– Ratio Analysis/Erasure analysis• Look for unusually high numbers of answers changed
from wrong to right– Item-Response Pattern Analysis• Look for unusually common response patterns from
students in the same class– Test Score Analysis• Look for exceptionally large increases from previous
years or large declines in next year’s test
Best Practice 7
• Have procedures for investigating allegations of cheating or misconduct– Emphasize prevention and protection of
employees from false allegations– Provide a process for reporting, to whom, and
when– Develop a policy that protects “whistleblowers”– Follow up with all schools using the Wrong/Right
answer analysis for their school
Best Practice 8
• Investigating– Investigate immediately– Ensure that all witnesses are interviewed– Coordinate with proper authorities• Chain of command BUT know what to do if superiors
are involved – who do you report to then?– The level of reporting to authorities may depend
on the type of test and the state of your employment
Best Practice 9
• Identify district ethics statements or other documents that address testing
• Make sure faculty and test proctors are aware of those documents
• Wyoming has a Professional Conduct Guide that addresses standardized testing
Best Practice 10
• If all your best efforts fail• Investigate, document, then discipline or
prosecute those who are guilty
MJS Consulting LLC• Dr. Mark J. Stock• 64 Arrowhead Drive• Laramie, WY, 82070
• Work # 307-766-6825• Cell # 307-399-1711
• [email protected]• University of Wyoming• Assistant Professor Educational Leadership
Hypothetical Discussion 2
A teacher stops by your office (you are the principal) and says, “Something odd happened today. I asked a new student who was transferred to my class this semester from Mr. Jones’s class how he did on the final assessment. He says the class never took it. But when I looked on the computer, it shows scores for all the students. I asked the other 4 students from his class and they all said the same thing.”
What should you do? Take 10 minutes to discuss