Tighter Assessment Security Coincides With Drop In Pennsylvania Scores.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (9/24, Hardy) reports, "The percentage of Pennsylvania students meeting state math and reading standards on the PSSAs - the annual academic accountability test - declined this year for the first time since the tests began in 2002. Education Secretary Ron Tomalis on Friday attributed the drop to tight security procedures enforced during the spring testing, especially in 110 schools across the state still under investigation for possible cheating from 2009 to 2011." The piece notes that some 100 teachers are facing sanctions for alleged cheating.

 

The Allentown (PA) Morning Call (9/24) reports that Tomalis said that "higher testing standards or education spending cuts" were not to blame, but that the "reduction was caused by increased security measures that stopped a 'small number of educators' from changing students' test answers to the right answers, Tomalis said. 'Why did we see decrease?' Tomalis asked at a news conference in Harrisburg. 'We put in place some safeguards to make sure data was accurate.'"

 

Scores Decline In Philadelphia.The Philadelphia Daily News (9/24, Russ) reports that school officials in Philadelphia say "tighter controls to prevent cheating may be a factor in the first decline in state test scores since the statewide exam began in 2002." However, education advocates say that funding cuts also played a role, the Daily News reports, noting that "Only 33, or 13 percent, of Philadelphia's 250 schools met state benchmarks in reading and math...down from 44 percent of the schools meeting the standards."

 

Scores Drop Sharply At State's Largest Charter.The Philadelphia Inquirer (9/24, Hardy, Purcell) reports that PSSA scores "dropped precipitously at Chester Community Charter School, the state's largest charter, after an investigation of possible past cheating brought new scrutiny to the school's testing practices." The school's scores fell between 30 and 40 percentage points, the paper reports, noting that the "school's 2011 scores had been above or close to state academic proficiency benchmarks; in 2012, they are well below them, even discounting that the state raised the thresholds for this school year."