Saturday, July 16, 2011

Pa. education secretary orders reviews of all state exams since 2009, especially Phila.'s - Philly.com

Pa. education secretary orders reviews of all state exams since 2009, especially Phila.'s - Philly.com

Pa. education secretary orders reviews of all state exams since 2009, especially Phila.'s

July 15, 2011|By Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer

Following revelations about possible cheating on state tests, Pennsylvania's education secretary has ordered forensic reviews of all exams since 2009, with special attention to Philadelphia.

"When you have multiple indications from multiple sources that something's not correct, that absolutely does require a greater level of scrutiny," Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis said in an interview Thursday.

A forensic analysis of testing data prepared for the Department of Education in 2009 looked at schools statewide for possible testing improprieties.

Nearly half of the roughly 60 schools flagged for multiple statistical irregularities are in Philadelphia - 22 Philadelphia School District schools and seven charters.