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Half of Public Schools Have Errors in Test Data
Half of Illinois' public schools have errors in testing data, including discrepancies that could land them unfairly on a state failing list, State Board of Education officials said Monday.
Last year, 451 schools were erroneously labeled as failing to meet federal standards because of similar errors. Corrected data weren't released until March, nearly a year after students sat for state exams.
New State Supt. Randy Dunn pledged Monday to avoid the chaos of last year, promising to work with schools to fix the problems and to withhold data until they are "100 percent accurate."
The state is supposed to release data publicly by Oct. 31 but Dunn refuses to be bound by a "bureaucratic deadline. ... What's important is getting the information right so schools don't fail unnecessarily."
Dunn was named interim superintendent last Monday after Gov. Blagojevich's newly appointed board pushed out Robert Schiller.
The state board identified potential problems in the test participation rates in 1,958 of Illinois' 3,081 schools. For example, a school may have said all students took the exams but reported elsewhere that none of its Hispanic students took the exams. This area is crucial because 95 percent of all students must take the exams to meet federal standards under the No Child Left Behind law.
The discrepancies are often caused by students erroneously filling out demographic information. Officials hope these problems will be diminished after a new electronic coding system goes into effect during spring testing.
— Kate N. Grossman
Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/output/education/cst-nws-educ28.html
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