School testing moratorium sought

Terry Webster

Tuesday, July 25, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

State Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, is calling for a temporary testing ban and an emergency meeting of the Legislative Committee on Education in the wake of an alleged cheating scandal at Robert E. Lake Elementary School.

"I think we should put a moratorium on the whole testing process until all of this is straightened out," Williams, the education committee chairman, said. "It should probably be on all testing, but definitely on the TerraNova."

Williams also wants a blue-ribbon panel to be appointed to study testing issues.

Allegations raised by former Lake Elementary fourth grade teacher Ramona Johnson call into question "the entire testing process throughout the Clark County School District," Williams said Monday.

School officials have confirmed that they have concerns with scores on the district's internal Curriculum Based Assessment Program (CBAP) exam, which measures how well students have learned what they are taught. But they firmly maintain there was no wrong-doing on the TerraNova, a state test the district keeps under lock and key.

For Williams, the fact that Johnson, who resigned in June, has produced a copy of the fourth grade TerraNova booklet is enough to raise serious questions about test security.

Too much emphasis is being placed on her having the booklet, Williams said, instead of general test security issues and test scores.

"The school district, in my opinion, is looking to blow this off as nonsense," he said.

The saga began unfolding, Johnson said, when she confided to another fourth grade teacher that she was reprimanded by administrators for having low TerraNova test scores. The teacher later handed her a TerraNova booklet and told her to "teach the test."

"Test security issues have been coming up at our meetings for the past year and a half," said Williams, who directed state staffers to research the dates and names of people who testified at meetings. "People have said the tests are not secure, but we didn't have any real specifics until now. I think we need to schedule an emergency meeting to deal with this."

From June to July during the 1999-2000 school year, a total of 19 potential breaches of test security were reported state-wide, said Keith Rheault, a Nevada Department of Education deputy superintendent. Of that total, 12 were resolved.

"Most of the incidents were for one or more missing test booklets, although it ranged from students cheating to teachers providing assistance," Rheault said.

Clark County reported nine or 47 percent of the 19 incidents.

"Seven of those nine have not been totally resolved," said Rheault.

Johnson's comparison of the third grade CBAP and the fourth grade TerraNova test scores caught Williams' attention during a meeting at his Las Vegas office Monday.

Johnson's study of test scores included 18 students, but she used one student as an example Monday. She said that in a comparison of CBAP and TerraNova results, the student showed severe discrepancies in performance.

Additionally, she showed Williams examples of the student's work that show he lacks basic math and writing skills, yet scored nearly perfect in those areas on the third grade CBAP exam.

"This tells me that something is wrong here," Williams said.

The Clark County School District launched an investigation into her allegations on June 26, the same day Johnson revealed her concerns to the Sun.

On Friday, the Nevada Department of Education and the state Office of the State Attorney General confirmed they are joining the probe.

The education committee may now step in to expedite the process.

"We've had complaints when the attorney general's office is taking too long to respond to some things," Williams said.

"We were reluctant to do it, but we have stepped in. Maybe it's appropriate to do it again. We have the power to do that."

The school district has maintained that its testing procedures are sound.

"We want to make sure the kids don't get lost in this," said district spokeswoman Mary Stanley-Larsen. "We will do whatever it takes to maintain the integrity of the testing program, and we want to assure parents that children and their success in school is our top priority."

The Jan. 13, 1998, meeting minutes from the Legislative Committee on Education show the Clark County School District has had other problems with test procedures in the past.

The minutes show that during the mid-1980's the district investigated concerns about a district-wide test, and that the School Board implemented a program "to prevent using tests inappropriately." The particular tests are not named in the minutes.

Judy Costa, the school district's director of testing and evaluation, testified at the 1998 meeting.