NORFOLK
A state investigation into testing irregularities at a struggling city middle school found that some students weren’t tested and some tests has identical answers, including spelling errors.
The investigation records were obtained by The Virginian-Pilot through the Freedom of Information Act.
Lafayette-Winona Middle School failed to test at least two dozen special education students who should have been assessed last spring, according to the investigation by the Virginia Department of Education.
Two teachers improperly submitted identical work for multiple special education students in state assessment portfolios, and one teacher refused to test eight special education students at all because of a disagreement over how the students’ learning should be measured, according to the department’s Oct. 14 report.
Investigators concluded that the Norfolk school division violated five state and federal regulations, including special needs students’ right to a free appropriate education.
The state is requiring the Norfolk division to create a plan to correct scoring errors, to allow students to take tests they were prevented from taking, and to set up a system of training and monitoring to prevent future problems.
Superintendent Stephen C. Jones said he accepted the state’s findings and his administrators were working to fulfill the recommendations. Decisions on discipline were still pending, he said Tuesday.
“The individuals that were involved, all of their involvement is being reviewed as disciplinary issues,” Jones said. “I’m not comfortable commenting on those until we’ve gotten all of the facts.”
School Board Chairman Stephen Tonelson said he was troubled by the report and wanted more answers.
“There are a couple of things that concern me. One is the fact that we have a few teachers in a school that feel, for whatever reason, that it’s appropriate to cheat in order to make our students look good or our school system look good,” he said. “I am concerned about the high-stakes testing that in some ways has become the only measure of student success.”
Tonelson also said he wished the board had received the report earlier. Board members said they were first notified about the investigation in early November because of inquiries by The Pilot. Tonelson received a copy of the report earlier this month, and other board members received copies Tuesday.
For more details, return to PilotOnline.com later and read tomorrow’s Virginian-Pilot.
