Probe Into Testing Irregularities Closed

Investigators from the Public Education Department did not find enough evidence of “testing irregularities” at a West Side elementary school to warrant discipline or further action, according to a letter from the PED.

The letter, sent Friday to Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent Winston Brooks, stops short of clearing the staff of Sierra Vista Elementary School of tampering with high-stakes student tests, saying: “PED obtained considerable circumstantial evidence” of testing issues, but “the evidence is not sufficient to warrant further administrative or disciplinary action,” and the investigation is closed.

The department sent a team of investigators to Sierra Vista for two days in early March. According to the letter, the investigation was done because PED received complaints in mid-February that cheating had occurred during the 2011 Standards-Based Assessment and had been going on since 2009. The 2012 SBAs were administered last week.

According to the letter, the tipsters alleged:

♦ Teachers read the test questions aloud to students, changing language to help students understand.

♦ Teachers checked students’ work and pointed out mistakes.

♦ Teachers looked at the tests and discussed their contents.

According to the letter, some teachers told PED investigators they had heard of such incidents, and one reported witnessing an “irregularity.” But the teachers who were the targets of the investigation denied any knowledge of these practices.

An analysis of test scores among students in the targeted teachers’ classes did show potential signs of score inflation, according to the letter, but that could be explained by other factors like gifted pupils or excellent teaching.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal