A state review of erasures on a standardized test has cleared all schools in Jackson County — with the exception of Jefferson Academy, according to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA).
The agency last week released its results of a spring 2010 erasure analysis on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) — which is given to elementary and middle school students to determine how well they understand the state’s curriculum.
All of the schools in the Jackson County and Commerce City school systems fell into either the “clear of concern” or “minimal concern” categories.
Overall, 97 percent of Georgia’s elementary and middle schools fell into the “clear” or “minimal concern” categories — compared to 80 percent and 10 percent, respectively, a year ago.
At Jefferson Academy, 17 percent of classrooms were flagged by the state agency — placing it in the “moderate concern” category. Statewide, three percent of schools fell into that designation.
But officials at the Jefferson City School System say its internal analysis shows that students were erasing wrong answers on their own and replacing them with correct responses.
In the days since the state released its report, the school system has reviewed the test-taking records of the 260 students questioned in the analysis, and interviewed teachers and students.
No action has been taken against a teacher because there have been no findings of unethical or inappropriate behavior, according to Donna McMullan, associate superintendent of the Jefferson City School System.
“There is clear evidence to support a substantial number of erasures resulted from students getting off track during testing when transcribing their answers from the test booklet to the answer document,” McMullan wrote in an e-mail to The Jackson Herald on Tuesday. “Students are encouraged to focus exclusively on the test throughout the entire time allotted and to doublecheck their work. While it is permissible for students to put their head on their desk or read a book, we discourage this during the time the test is being given.”
Jefferson school flagged for ‘moderate concern’ on CRCT analysis
In its internal analysis of those students who were flagged by the state, McMullan said the same students have consistently met or exceeded standards in previous CRCTs. And out of the 11 teachers flagged by the agency, 10 had proctors in their classrooms during testing.
The majority of the students flagged by the state are either regular education or gifted students. Only three percent were special education students and one percent was English Language Learners (ELL) students.
“One would reasonably assume that if somebody is going to go through the trouble and take the risk of changing answers, you wouldn’t pick the students who have never had a problem with it,” said superintendent John Jackson.
Jefferson Academy teachers also documented 22 students who lost track marking responses on their 2010 CRCT answer document, which was reported in a form completed by all test examiners during each test administration.
McMullan was also asked why Jefferson Academy was flagged with a “moderate concern” when other schools were mostly cleared by the state analysis.
“If the information that we have gathered through our investigation is accurate, the only answer we can give you is more students at Jefferson Academy changed their answers as the result of either getting off track or deciding their initial answer was incorrect,” she said.
“Attempting to come up with definite hard and fast answers in an exercise such as this is extremely difficult and frustrating,” she added. “For example, several of the teachers who were flagged were flagged for subject areas they did not and do not even teach.”
The Jefferson City School System has forwarded the results of its internal investigation to the state for review.
The majority of the students flagged by the state are either regular education or gifted students. Only three percent were special education students and one percent was English Language Learners (ELL) students.
“One would reasonably assume that if somebody is going to go through the trouble and take the risk of changing answers, you wouldn’t pick the students who have never had a problem with it,” said superintendent John Jackson.
Jefferson Academy teachers also documented 22 students who lost track marking responses on their 2010 CRCT answer document, which was reported in a form completed by all test examiners during each test administration.
McMullan was also asked why Jefferson Academy was flagged with a “moderate concern” when other schools were mostly cleared by the state analysis.
“If the information that we have gathered through our investigation is accurate, the only answer we can give you is more students at Jefferson Academy changed their answers as the result of either getting off track or deciding their initial answer was incorrect,” she said.
“Attempting to come up with definite hard and fast answers in an exercise such as this is extremely difficult and frustrating,” she added. “For example, several of the teachers who were flagged were flagged for subject areas they did not and do not even teach.”
The Jefferson City School System has forwarded the results of its internal investigation to the state for review.
In addition, changing answers isn't uncommon. I remember taking tests in school and coloring in those little boxes. Monotonous to say the least. Sometimes, if I didn't know the answer, I went on to the next question but forgot to "skip" the answer box. This required going back and "fixing" it. Hence: Erasures.
Addressing the issue with a more simplified method would seem to be the best way to eliminate the problem. The two-part booklet and answer page was an effort to keep down cost by allowing the booklets to be re-used over again. Makes sense but leaves open the possibility of "getting out of sequence", which leaves open the accusations.
It might be prudent to simply add more reference in the intitial instructions to the students to be on guard for getting out of sequence.