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Roslindale principal accused of leaking MCAS test
Ohanian Comment: Put enough pressure on folks, and they get desperate.
The chief of staff at the Department of Education says "If the tests aren't secure, the test scores can't be considered valid." There's a whole lot besides insecurity that make them invalid.
By Marie Szanislo and Mike Underwood
The principal of a struggling school in Roslindale, warned to boost dismal MCAS scores, is facing a state probe of accusations he released today’s MCAS exams to teachers a day early to help students prepare and improve school results.
The Department of Education yesterday confirmed it was investigating allegations that Washington Irving Middle School Principal James Watson distributed today’s test papers to staff yesterday.
"If this is true, it is very serious," said Heidi Guarino, chief of staff at the DOE.
"MCAS security is really the cornerstone of the state's testing program. If the tests aren't secure, the test scores can't be considered valid."
In 2005, Watson was told by then state education commissioner David P. Driscoll to improve results at the school after three consecutive years of poor MCAS scores.
It is the second time the school has been rocked by questions surrounding its MCAS testing.
In 2000, before Watson became principal, the school was investigated when Boston Public Schools officials noticed two classes of eighth-graders scored abnormally high on their MCAS tests.
Last November, the DOE revealed that in 2007, 20 teachers statewide were involved in MCAS cheating while 43 students shared answers or brought crib sheets into testing rooms.
In 2006, 15 educators and 19 students were reported for cheating. Three educators were caught cheating in 2005, the DOE said.
Watson became principal of Washington Irving Middle School in 2003.
He began his career in Boston in 1978 but left to serve as principal of Randolph’s junior/senior high school and as assistant to the superintendent there before returning to Boston in 2000 to head Wheatley Middle School.
A Boston Public School spokesman confirmed the state probe late last night.
— Marie Szanislo and Mike Underwood
Boston Herald
2008-03-26
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