Two schools have slightly irregular test results

Marisa O’Neil

Kaiser and Sonora elementary schools reported that a teacher at each

campus did not properly administer a state standardized test, making

them ineligible for a discontinued state awards program.

The “testing irregularities” showed up on the 2002-03 Academic

Performance Index Growth Reports released Thursday. Overall scores

for the schools were likely not affected, said Les Axelrod, an

administrator in educational research and evaluation for the

California Board of Education.

At Sonora, Axelrod said, one teacher reviewed a student’s answer

booklet and told him to change an answer. At Kaiser, he said, a

teacher gave some answers to students ahead of time to study.

Peggy Anatol, director of curriculum and assessment for

Newport-Mesa Unified School District, would not comment on the

irregularities, calling it a “personnel issue.” But, she said, the

district does “believe in the integrity of the test-giving process.”

The schools reported the irregularities to the district, who then

notified the state board of education.

“This testing irregularity was reported to us before testing was

completed,” Axelrod said. “The district was instructed to code

student answer documents, and those test booklets would not be

included when calculating the API.”

Because of the testing problems, the schools are not eligible for

awards under the Governor’s Performance Award, a seemingly moot

point. Because of budget cuts, the state has not given out the

performance-based cash awards since 2002.

The statute remains on the books, and awards eligibility is

reported with API results anyway, said Patrick Chladek, manager of

the awards unit at the California Board of Education.

Testing problems are “mostly accidental,” Chladek said. For

example, a teacher might inadvertently read part of a question to the

class, mistaking it for part of the instructions.

If more than 5% of a school’s students are affected by the

irregularity, however, the school will not receive an API report.

That can cause problems if it is required to show improvement to keep

receiving state or federal funds, he said.

“From that standpoint, irregularities at 5% or less aren’t

considered that significant,” Axelrod said.

Sonora and Kaiser received their API scores. Without the testing

irregularities, the schools would not have been eligible for the

funds, anyway.

Sonora missed its growth target by 12 points, scoring 719, down

from last year’s 731. It needed to improve by three points to meet

the state-mandated goal.

Kaiser exactly met its overall target of two points, going from

768 to 770. However, its Latino students slipped seven points on the

API, and its socio-economically disadvantaged students slipped by

four.

Schools must meet overall goals and meet goals for each

statistically significant demographic group under the federal No

Child Left Behind Act.