California’s honor system for high-stakes testing
State relies on moral values instead of computer programs
Nancy Dianna Jones may be among a handful of California educators who have read and absorbed all 143 pages of the state manual that spells out the rules for administering the STAR test and other high-stakes exams. Jones is administrator of support services for the Encinitas Union School District in north San Diego County, where she’s coordinated the standardized testing program for about seven years. She is emphatic when discussing the measures taken to ensure the integrity of standardized test results in the district.
California's District and Test Site Coordinator Manual covers every possible scenario from how to set up the testing room to what to do in the event of power outages and natural disasters. (click to enlarge)
“I do probably a good two-hour training for each of our site coordinators,” she said. “Our teachers know exactly what they may or may not do and we follow that to the letter.” Sometimes even beyond the letter. Although the Educational Testing Service(ETS), which has the testing contract for the