Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for August 9, 2005 UPON FURTHER REVIEW

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch...

Officials fear tossing scores hurt students

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO - Illinois education officials were forced to throw out one-third of the reading test administered to fifth-graders because at least 100 teachers inadvertently saw part of the exam months before it was given, according to a published report.

Officials with the Illinois State Board of Education planned this week to analyze whether the scores of some students were unfairly affected by tossing out scores, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.

Analyses so far have found the test was not significantly damaged by removing the passage - one of three - that was accidentally revealed, said Becky McCabe, the board's assistant director of student assessment.

But because test results would figure into sanctions that schools could face under the federal No Child Left Behind law, "we want to make sure we're being fair with everybody," said Becky Watts, a board spokeswoman. "This is the top of the heap ... as far as the accountability system goes."

Last week, preliminary results showed that Chicago reading scores went up in every grade tested except fifth, raising the question of whether students who fell just below passing might have benefited had the removed passage been counted.

The passage, called "Blue Darter," told of a girl who pitched for a boys' baseball team. It was the first of the three passages fifth-graders faced on their Illinois Standards Achievement Tests in March.

Consultant Mary Kay Henson of Albany used Blue Darter materials during 2005 workshops for teachers from about 30 districts outside the Chicago area. ISBE officials said another consultant who received similar materials said hers were stamped with the word "secure," but Henson insisted hers were not.

"I would have never used these had I thought they were going to be used on a test," Henson said.