State: No cheating on tests at Middle School

Published 5:31 pm Friday, November 4, 2011

By CHRIS COLLINS

ccollins@bakercityherald.com

Oregon Department of Education officials have determined that there was no cheating on state tests at Baker Middle School in 2009-10.

The ruling is based on information provided to the state by C.J. Gray, the Baker School District’s testing coordinator.

She investigated allegations of cheating on eighth-grade Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) reading/literature tests.

Although the ODE investigation has been concluded, an ongoing investigation regarding allegations of cheating against BMS Principal Mindi Vaughan is being conducted by the state Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC).

TSPC will consider that case, which involves the same test results, in February, said Superintnendent Walt Wegener.

“As far as the Oregon Department of Education, it is a done deal,” he

said. “TSPC is looking into the same issue from a different perspective

– professional licensure as opposed to the fidelity of the test.”

The ODE asked Gray to investigate as required by its protocol after

Baker City resident Christopher Christie brought the issue to the

agency’s attention, said Crystal Greene, Oregon Department of Education

(ODE) spokeswoman.

Christie said Thursday that while he did not file a formal complaint,

he had asked for copies of student test scores after receiving an email

from an anonymous source. The email pointed out apparent anomalies in

the middle school’s 2009-10 state reading/literature test results for

eighth-graders.

The Baker City Herald received the same information.

In an Oct. 28 letter responding to Gray’s investigation, Doug Kosty,

ODE assistant state superintendent, stated “Upon review of this report,

ODE accepts the district’s conclusion that no test impropriety occurred

and the district’s recommendation that no further action from ODE is

warranted.”

In his letter, Kosty outlined action taken by Gray to investigate the matter:

She interviewed 18 middle school employees who were asked to respond to

the same interview questions in order to determine whether proper

testing procedures were followed.

According to Kosty, Gray reported that all BMS employees confirmed that

none of the students used “non-allowable resources.” Those resources

include cell phones, class notes or other material brought to the test

site. Staff members also told Gray that all test materials were

collected and secured before and after each testing session, Kosty

wrote.

And Gray reported that staff members said students were spaced

appropriately while taking tests, and that none of the students was

“instructed to print reading passages, provided an instruction or given

any suggestions, or had a test administrator read any reading items

aloud to them.”

Had an impropriety been found, there would have been no further action,

however. Action is taken only during the current or most recent school

year and in that case tests of students involved in any irregularities

are invalidated.

According to ODE statistics over the past five years, the Baker School

District has had three student tests invalidated, Greene said.

A third-grader’s test was invalidated in 2008-09, and tests of a

third-grader and a sixth-grader were invalidated in 2009-10. Two tests

were thrown out because the test administrator read sections of the

test that were not allowed to be read to students, and in the other

case the student brought a dictionary to the test site, she said.

The Baker City Herald, in response the partial test results supplied by

the anonymous source, has asked ODE to release a copy of all 2009-2010

Oregon Statewide Assessment Reading/Literature records for individual

BMS eighth-graders, with names redacted for students’ privacy, but

identified by number so the newspaper can track test results over time

for each student.

The anonymous source provided a sampling of irregular test results. Here are four:

andbull; Student A, who took the test three times, scored in the 25th

percentile in November 2009. The student’s test score dropped to the

14th percentile in January 2010. Four months later, in April 2010, the

student scored in the 91st percentile.

andbull; Student B, who also tested three times, scored in the 29th percentile

in November 2009, the 14th percentile in January 2010, and in the 91st

percentile in April 2010.

andbull; Student C scored in the 25th percentile in January 2010; in the 22nd

percentile in March 2010; and in the 82nd percentile in April 2010.

andbull; Student D scored in the 19th percentile in January 2010; in the 22nd

percentile in March 2010; and in the 79th percentile in April 2010.

Wegener believes the low scores show a lack of student motivation

rather than cheating. He reviewed the entire academic history of six

students with anomalous test results and found that the high scores

were more typical for those students.

It’s not unusual for middle school students’ scores to fluctuate widely, he told the school board at its September meeting.

Scores as low as the 14th percentile would indicate that the student is

guessing at the answers, he said. And a score of the 29th percentile by

a student who has performed well on earlier tests shows low student

motivation, Wegener said

Vaughan, the BMS principal, said her students’ scores have improved not

because of cheating, but because of increased emphasis on the

importance of doing well and incentives such as Dilly Bars for students

who meet standards.

Wegener said the letter from Kosty indicates that Gray’s investigation

and findings were a “fair and reasonable response by the district.”

“The information and data would indicate there was no cheating,” he said.

In the meantime, the Baker City Herald is continuing to pursue release

of all Baker Middle School eighth-grade test results for 2009-10.

ODE granted a portion of the newspaper’s request earlier by releasing

the highest scores of each student for 2009-10 (with names redacted and

numbers included to allow tracking of individual students).

Christie, a Baker City blogger, said his request for test results was

denied. Once the newspaper became involved he said he gave up his

investigation to turn his attention to enjoying the summer.

“It had been exposed and people were aware of the issue,” he said.

“I wish I’d taken the time to follow up on it but it would have taken a

lot more time and money than I had,” he said. “I just wish Mr.

Anonymous had not been so anonymous.”

Christie said he was not surprised that Gray’s investigation found no wrongdoing.

“I think it was a forgone conclusion,” he said. “When people

investigate themselves … they’re going to end up with the very

conclusion they ended up with.”