Washington Post education writer Jay Mathews turned to Gregory Cizek, professor of educational measurement and evaluation, when he needed some expert commentary regarding
an investigation into testing irregularities.
A District of Columbia investigation found no reason to believe that anyone other than students changed answers on students’ test sheets, despite a large volume of erasures that changed incorrect answers to correct ones at dozens of D.C. schools.
D.C. investigators interviewed only adults at one school before concluding that students were responsible for the wrong-to-right erasures, Mathews reported.
Mathews called the investigation report a “thin, biased” document. He reported that the report cited no testing experts. An investigation into wrong-to-right erasures on 2009 tests in Atlanta found 178 principals and teachers who had changed answers on students’ tests.
Mathews wrote: “University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill testing expert Gregory Cizek, a consultant to the Atlanta investigation, told me “nothing we know of” has ever caused such large groups of students to change so many wrong answers to right. Massive erasing only occurs when “others do if for them,” he said.”
The Washington Post column is available here.