Testing company to be fined

Monday, Sept. 29, 2003 | 10:52 a.m.

The performance of Harcourt Educational Measurement, the Texas-based testing firm used by the state, has been unsatisfactory and the company should be fined up to $483,000, the state Board of Education decided Saturday during its meeting in Las Vegas.

The board authorized its staff to negotiate a fine of up to that amount for an error in grading tests at an estimated 220 elementary schools.

Board President Gary Waters said today that Harcourt will also have to pay the Education Department and the school districts the costs they incurred in correcting the error.

Harcourt was fined $425,000 last year for making mistakes in grading the tests of high school students.

Although the contract allows negotiating a penalty, the board recommended the state levy the maximum fine. Board member Marcia Washington of Las Vegas said it will be up to the Education Department to set the penalty after consulting with its attorneys and counsel for Harcourt.

"I said maximum penalty," Washington said Sunday.

The board will consider the penalty and any further action at its next meeting Oct. 24.

The board did not cancel the state's multimillion-dollar contract with Harcourt on Saturday, but it directed the staff to develop a request for proposals by January in case the board decides to seek another company to handle the testing and grading. Harcourt will also have to hire independent contractors to evaluate its process in the testing and scoring, Waters said.

The Education Department discovered in August that thousands of Nevada students in third and fifth grades received inflated scores on basic skill tests such as reading and math given in the spring because of a mistake by Harcourt.

The company's error occurred after a mistaken calculation while converting raw scores, or the number of correct answers.

About 20 nine-month schools in Clark County received inaccurate results for the basic skills tests. The students were tested in April and May.

A suggestion was made at Saturday's meeting that the affected schools receive financial compensation from Harcourt to cover the cost of sending a second round of test scores to parents.

Harcourt was fined $425,000 for miscalculating scores that showed 736 Nevada high school sophomores and juniors had failed, when in fact, they had passed the exams.

Passing such proficiency examinations is a requirement for earning a high school diploma in Nevada.