7 Jan 2005
Interim Superintendent Says Improprieties Will Not Be Tolerated
DALLAS—When the Dallas Independent School District begins its February 22 administration of the TAKS test, students, teachers and parents can rest assured there will be increased efforts to monitor testing and thwart possible cheating, Interim Superintendent Larry Groppel said Friday.
Though he said the district has had testing integrity programs in place for years and is guided by state laws and district policies, there clearly will be an increased effort to ensure that no one is cheating when the TAKS or any other testing is administered.
"This is something we always have taken very seriously, but in light of the questions that have been raised about testing irregularities at a handful of our schools, there is no doubt going to be an increased presence of monitors throughout the district this spring," Groppel said. "Cheating will not be tolerated."
In the meantime, the superintendent said that the district continues to investigate questions associated with testing irregularities associated with Harrell Budd Elementary School. He said that an additional 34 schools also are being reviewed, and by year's end, all district schools' test scores from the 2003-04 school year will have been reviewed. He also said it is anticipated that the review of Budd will be completed by the end of January.
"We will thoroughly examine the scope of potential past improprieties," Groppel said. "Our parents demand it, our students deserve it, and our policies require it. Cheating on any test in this district has not and will not be tolerated."
Groppel said that as a proactive measure, the district will have random monitoring at a number of campuses during the February 22-23 and April 19-22 TAKS testing dates. He would not confirm the exact number of monitors nor the locations where they will be.
"That information will remain confidential up until the day of testing when additional monitors arrive unannounced at randomly-selected schools throughout Dallas ISD," Groppel said.
He also said that during the Early Release meetings to be held at schools throughout the district on March 24, additional training will be provided to teachers and test administrators about the "do's and don'ts" of testing, how to stop cheating, and how to report it if it's observed.
DISD test coordinators were provided an 85-page assessment manual in September of 2004 that offers information about how to administer a test such as TAKS, what to do if cheating is suspected, and how to report it, among other details.
Groppel will be in Austin Monday to take part in a news conference with TEA Commissioner Shirley Neeley and other school superintendents.