USA Today has launched an investigation into a dramatic rise in test scores at a D.C. school.
It’s looking into results at Crosby Noyes Education Campus in northeast Washington.
According to USA Today, the school had 10 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in math tests in 2006. Then in 2008, that number jumped to 58 percent.
USA Today looked into erasure rates from standardized tests. Most classrooms at Noyes had a high number of erasures on tests from wrong to right answers since tests scores started going up.
Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said D.C. launched its own investigation into test impropriety at several schools. According to USA Today, DCPS did not specify if that investigation included Noyes.
In 2009, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education flagged a handful of schools for investigation based on erasure data, which is collected by the same electronic scanners used to score the tests, so DCPS brought in Caveon Test Security. For the majority of the schools there was no evidence of wrongdoing, and where Caveon recommended discipline for a school of staffer, DCPS followed the recommendation, a statement from the school district read. The statement did not specify which schools those were.
This year, DCPS implemented the following to ensure testing adheres to standards:
- We brought in Caveon, LLC, an independent firm with leading market expertise in test security, to conduct independent reviews of school testing protocols and staff training.
- We incorporated stricter protocols for receiving, storing and returning test materials into the school test plans per an independent review conducted by Caveon, LLC, after the 2010 CAS administration.
- We provided every school with an independent observer from Central Office trained in test security protocols for the duration of the DC CAS testing window as well as additional monitoring for schools that have been identified as having prior test security issues.
- We conducted unscheduled visits to testing schools to observe maintenance of secure test material storage and handling.
- We conducted an independent review of every school test plan.
The Department of Education named Noyes a Blue Ribbon school in 2009 for its improvements in test scores.
