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TAKS rewards may violate privacy laws for students, state education chief says

About time! This is a Texas
story but it applies in all states. The Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a federal
laws. It's way past time they enforce
it.

By Terrence Stutz

AUSTIN – Pizza parties, field trips and other
rewards – including cash – for students who
pass the TAKS may be in violation of federal
privacy laws for students, the state's
education chief has warned.

In a letter to school superintendents that was
released Thursday, state Education Commissioner
Robert Scott said the Texas Education Agency
has received "numerous reports" from across the
state that students' confidential test score
results may have been directly or indirectly
disclosed.

"Specifically, some districts and campuses have
distributed or released test scores in a manner
that may have inadvertently identified students
who did not meet the standard" on the Texas
Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, Mr. Scott
wrote.

"These reports reflect that rewards are being
offered to selected students based on meeting
the standard on the test ... consisting of such
things as cash, pizza parties, field trips and
other varying forms of recognition."

The problem, according to the commissioner, is
that typically only a minority of students fail
to pass the TAKS at each school. By recognizing
those who pass, it is easy to identify by
process of elimination the students who fail.

Mr. Scott said that while the motivational
efforts are intended to help students by
encouraging better performance on the test,
they also have a negative effect on those who
are not rewarded.

Mr. Scott said a district may in some
circumstances recognize students who achieve a
high level of performance on the test, such as
those who are in the upper 5 percent or 10
percent of scores.

Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the TEA,
said Thursday that even school assemblies at
which educators recognize students for passing
the TAKS is technically a violation of the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

"If you have 20 students in a room and single
out 15 who passed the test, it's pretty obvious
who didn't pass," she said. "Principals aren't
intentionally trying to violate the privacy
rights of children, they have just not thought
through what they're doing."



Dallas Morning News
2008-10-10
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/101008dntswtaks.325b539.html

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