A report published as part of a 4 month independent review of NYS Education Department’s Test Integrity Policies and Procedures has concluded that the SED office of Assessment, Policy Development and Administration (“ADPA”) “cannot adequately receive, review and follow-up on reports of allegations in the administration and scoring of state assessments.” The view found that staff is focused on test development and administration, lacks appropriate training and the required skill sets and only devotes a fraction of their time” to allegations of cheating on tests.
The review was led by Henry M. Greenberg, a lawyer appointed by the Board of Regents
Create a new Test Security Unit (“TSU”) and provide sufficient resources. TSU should be staffed with at least 5 to 10 full-time employees assigned exclusively to test integrity work. SED should identify the necessary skills and training for all personnel assigned to TSU.
As described below, under the direction of the Board of Regents, TSU would be responsible for:
- Directly investigating cases involving serious allegations and more aggressively pursuing Part 83 moral character cases where appropriate.
- Instituting a new state-of-the-art intake and data gathering system.
- Supporting LEAs and BOCES DSs tasked with conducting investigations.
- Aggressively overseeing local integrity investigations.
- Recommending statewide standards and guidelines for teachers and administrators to the Board of Regents.
Increasing the frequency and strategic use of data forensics. - Developing written operational policies and procedures for the intake, referral, review, tracking and disposition of allegations; the investigation and prosecution of moral character cases.
- Instituting quality control mechanisms to ensure compliance with established policies and procedures.
Conducting thorough review of existing security policies and procedures for state-administered assessments and implement enhancements of security protocols.
The Independent review found that APDA relies solely on local education agencies (“LEAs”) and the District Superintendents from the state’s 37 BOCES to conduct investigations and report the results to APDA.
There is a lack of written policies and procedures and quality control mechanisms and decision-making is made on an inconsistent basis.
Link here is the official summary of the report which makes clear that the SED Assessment, Policy Development and Administration flunked every imaginable aspect of maintaining test integrity in New York State. All of this occurred under former New York State Assistant Commissioner David Abrams, the Bernie Madoff of public education, a man who single-handedly has made New York State standardized testing a laughingstock among educators throughout the United States.
RELATED:
Education Week: N.Y. State Acts to Derail Standardized Test Cheats
Gotham Schools: New test security office formed after state audit details faults
New York Times: State Will Overhaul Its Handling of Test-Tampering Complaints
…complaints of test tampering on the state Regents exams have soared in recent years, in New York City and across the state. According to a state database, which was obtained by The New York Times in October of last year, 7 percent of city public high schools faced allegations of test tampering in the 2009-10 school year, up from 1 percent in 2002-3.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Longtime readers of Talk of the Sound now that it is precisely this lack of integrity in the test fraud investigation process that led to the creation of this site. In my case, the SED has run (and continues to run) my family around in circles regarding the grotesque fraud perpetrated by Marissa Raniolo and Joyce Kent at New Rochelle High School and the ensuing cover up by Principal Don Conetta, Schools Superintendent Richard Organisciak and the New Rochelle Board of Education in collision with the attorneys at Kehl, Katzive and Simon, the district’s law firm. I have provided clear, incontrovertible evidence that school officials repeatedly lied to state investigators and that Schools Superintendent Richard Organisciak repeatedly lied in withholding school records regarding my son’s case in violation of state and federal law. Despite this the SED has, so far, refused to act in addressing the underlying crimes which occurred or the subsequent coverup by school officials. We will be watching the new TSU closely and asking whether they intend to review cases initaited prior to their creation.
