Posted on: Saturday, April 16, 2005

Other schools linked to improper testing

By James Gonser and Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writers

An investigation of possible irregularities involving standardized testing has widened to include more schools, the Department of Education said yesterday.

It has already been determined that some students at 'Aiea Intermediate School will have to retake part of the Hawai'i State Assessment due to improper timing of a practice test, DOE officials said.

And students at Kamaile Elementary in Wai'anae and Pu'uhale Elementary in Kapalama may have to do so for other reasons, they said.

Revelations of the improper coaching of students and the violation of DOE testing security at Wai'anae Intermediate School have made everyone sensitive to such issues regarding the high-stakes test, said Selvin Chin-Chance, a DOE test development specialist.

The test scores are used to determine whether schools are adequately bringing students up to grade level in reading or math under federal No Child Left Behind Act guidelines. Failure to do so can lead to penalties up to "restructuring," or takeover by the state.

In the wake of the irregularities in Wai'anae, Chin-Chance said his office has received about a dozen calls from schools regarding test procedures and other questions.

"We are looking at a number of schools. I can't give you the names because we haven't been to the schools to find out if it is even worthwhile making a report of possible irregularities in the administration of the tests," he said.

What has been reported is "nothing along the lines of like what happened at Wai'anae," he said.

According to DOE spokeswoman Sandra Goya, some of the inquiries have involved situations such as a student ripping a page out of a test booklet to use as scratch paper. Others were more serious.

At 'Aiea Intermediate, eighth-graders will have to retake one section of their math test because a DOE-provided practice test was given too close to the actual test date. According to DOE protocol, the practice tests should not be administered once the official test booklets have been distributed to teachers — generally two days before the test is given.

Testing has already resumed after a one-day pause for investigation, Goya said.

Ongoing investigations include a potentially serious situation at Kamaile where a group of fifth-graders was given extra time to complete a portion of the test, Chin-Chance said.

"In that case it appears that someone inadvertently gave the students a much longer time than what was called for," he said.

"We did get an initial indication from the (test) publisher that we will probably have to retest," he said. "We are just waiting for the confirmation from them."

Chin-Chance is also looking at reports from substitute teacher Cinde Fisher, who detailed potential problems during a fifth-grade testing session at Pu'uhale.

Fisher said she saw an educational assistant stop at the desks of two different students to write something down on a piece of paper while the students were still working through the test questions. "The (test) books were still open on their desks," she said.

One girl later said the educational assistant had helped her with a problem on the test, Fisher reported.

Chin-Chance confirmed that Fisher had made a complaint.

"She talked about the students writing something as part of the irregularity and we want to get copies of that and see what it is," Chin-Chance said. "If it has nothing to do with the test there may not be any need to continue."

Fisher also said students in an adjoining classroom — separated only by a bed sheet —overheard students in her classroom discussing questions and answers immediately after the test. "The kids started shouting out the answers," she said. "Of course, we immediately shushed them."

Neither Glen Kila, principal at Kamaile, nor David Hanaike, principal at Pu'uhale, returned calls from The Advertiser yesterday. The principal at 'Aiea Intermediate could not be reached late yesterday.

The DOE investigation has already determined that some students at Wai'anae Intermediate School were improperly coached immediately before taking portions of the Hawai'i State Assessment.

The investigation turned up two sets of review sheets prepared by someone who had taken an advance look at the test booklets, a clear violation of security under DOE rules. Seventh- and eighth-graders at Wai'anae Intermediate will now have to retake parts of the test.

Reach James Gonser at 535-2431 or jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com. Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.