History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
In letter to state superintendents, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan stresses testing integrity
- 06-28-2011
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Blog by Erica Green/Baltimore Sun
A story in Sunday's paper explored situations unfolding in districts across the nation regarding cheating on state tests, and featured some experts who sounded off about the pressures that are mounting on schools to meet test score goals. It seems that the U.S. Department of Education has taken notice. The Sun obtained a letter sent Friday from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to all state superintendents stressing the importance of testing integrity. The letter was timely, sent just a day after State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick and city schools CEO Andres Alonso announced that two more city schools--Abbottston and Fort Worthington elementary schools--were confirmed to have cheated on recent years' Maryland School Assessments. The Sun broke the news on Thursday morning. Duncan, who visited Baltimore's Abbottston Elementary in 2009--the same year the school was found to have cheated--stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of state assessments across the nation, because they produce data not only used for assessing student progress, but is also critical for federal funding and programming. (more...)
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