State finds testing problems at Norfolk elementary school

NORFOLK

For the second time, irregularities on tests taken by Norfolk students that determine state accreditation have been disclos ed - this time at Campostella Elementary School.

The division launched an investigation in the fall after the state education department found a significant number of tests with erasures on wrong answers for questions that were then marked correctly. The testing occurred on students' Standards of Learning answer sheets reviewed in September, said department spokesman Charles Pyle.

In December, the division accepted a state finding of problems at Lafayette-Winona Middle School ranging from special education students who weren't tested to assessments with identical answers, including misspellings.

"Typically, we do not see multiple irregularities involving multiple schools within a single division within one school year," Pyle said.

State officials said they plan to help Norfolk follow proper methods for SOL testing.

According to a letter by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright, the state will also help the division by making sure it better identifies special education students for an SOL-alternative test called the Virginia Grade Level Assessments (VGLA).

The Jan. 5 letter went to Norfolk Superintendent Stephen C. Jones. Jones was not available for comment Wednesday, according to a spokesperson.

Elizabeth Mather, the division's spokeswoman, said there was no evidence that teachers or proctors helped the students answer the tests. Proctors are staff assigned to conduct testing.

School board Chairman Stephen Tonelson said Wednesday, "The fact we're not following procedures on a state-mandated assessment concerns me greatly."

The incident could influence the public and other stakeholders' perceptions of the city's public schools, he said. "I think it does go toward credibility; it does go toward accountability."

At the same time, Tonelson said, "we're talking about a school, a couple of teachers, and I don't know that we can make the leap - I'm sure we should not make the leap - that this is what everyone is doing," he said.

"We're going to try our best to correct it, and I'm glad we're doing this because we need to know when there are problems," Board member Karen Jones Squires said.

"We have a good system," Board member Jim Driggers said. "We'll find out what the issues were and, rest assured, we'll deal with it."

The testing irregularities involved two classrooms of third-graders, two teachers and two proctors. Pyle said one class was tested on reading, the other on math. Thirty-nine students were involved.

Mather said the irregularities would not affect Campostella's SOL pass rate in the grade or subjects.

The school is accredited, and Pyle said the state will not require retesting becaus e the students now are in the fourth grade. The teachers and proctors who allowed the irregularities had been trained in proper testing protocols, Mather said.

That was a difference from Lafayette-Winona, where the division linked irregularities in VGLA assessments to teachers who skipped voluntary training for administering tests.

The Norfolk division found that the Campostella staff allowed the third-graders to mark their answers in test booklets and then copy the answers on separate forms that were scanned and scored.

State and division rules require that students mark their answers directly on the forms, "because of the likelihood that children will copy the answers incorrectly," according to the division's news release.

The release also said that students in one classroom were told to fill out portions of the test and then stop until instructed to continue to the next section. Such "pacing" is meant to help pupils keep their concentration during a test, but it is against Virginia and Norfolk guidelines.

Mather noted that last year was the first time the state scrutinized SOL tests for discrepancies such as erasures. She speculated that other divisions might have been flagged for the same thing. Pyle said he did not know whether erasure concerns had been detected in other divisions.

The division said it would correct conditions at Campostella in several ways, including:

• Teachers and proctors involved in the incident will have no testing responsibilities in the future.
• A Campostella administrator will assume responsibility of the SOL testing.
• The division's testing department will assign test proctors for Campostella, rather than proctors being chosen by the school.
• Random checks will be done on Campostella's assessment tests.

Campostella is among 44 of the division's 49 schools that have full state accreditation.

A committee is currently examining VGLA testing at Lafayette-Winona.

Steven G. Vegh, (757) 446-2417, steven.vegh@pilotonline.com