FAIRTEST has warned about the misuse of standardized testing for
years. As an organization, it serves an invaluable purpose and
exists on a shoe string. It should be funded by Gates, Broad, and
Walton. Instead it is funded by you. Here is FAIRTEST’s chronology
of Pearson’s testing errors over the years.
PEARSON’S HISTORY OF TESTING
PROBLEMS
compiled by Bob Schaeffer, Public
Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair
& Open Testing
Update August 14,
2013
1998
California – test score delivery
delayed 1999-2000
Arizona – 12,000 tests misgraded due to flawed
answer key 2000
Florida – test score delivery delayed resulting
in $4 million fine 2000
Minnesota – misgraded 45,739 graduation tests
leads to lawsuit with $11 million settlement – judge found “years
of quality control problems” and a “culture emphasizing
profitability and cost-cutting.”http://www.news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200211/25_pugmiret_testsettle/
FairTest consulted with plaintiffs’ attorneys)
2000 Washington
– 204,000 writing WASL exams rescored
2002 Florida — dozens of
school districts received no state grades for their 2002 scores
because of a “programming error” at the DOE. One Montessori school
never received scores because NCS Pearson claimed not to have
received the tests.
2005 Michigan — scores delayed and
fines levied per contract
2005 Virginia — computerized test
misgraded – five students awarded $5,000 scholarships http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_8014/is_20051015/ai_n41291590/
2005-2006 SAT college
admissions test – 4400 tests wrongly scored; $3 million
settlement after lawsuit (note FairTest was an expert witness for
plaintiffs)
2008
South Carolina –“Scoring Error Delays School
Report Cards” The State, November 14, 2008
2008-2009 Arkansas —
first graders forced to retake exam because real test used for
practice 2009-2010
Wyoming – Pearson’s new computer adaptive PAWS
flops; state declares company in “complete default of the
contract;” $5.1 million fine accepted after negotiations but not
pursued by state governor http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_d7fae426-7358-5000-a86b-aefcae258a2a.html
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_263ceb44-833a-11e0-911d-001cc4c002e0.html
2010 Florida –
test score delivery delayed by more than a month – nearly $15
million in fines imposed and paid. School superintendents still
question score accuracy —
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/florida-hits-fcat-contractor-pearson-with-another-12-million-in-penalties/1110688
2010 Minnesota
–– results from online science tests taken by 180,000
students delayed due to scoring error http://www.twincities.com/ci_15533234?nclick_check=1#
2011 Florida –
some writing exams delivered to districts without cover sheets,
revealing subject students would be asked to write about http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/testing/testmaker-pearson-replaces-faulty-fcats-missing-cover-sheets/1153508
2011 Florida –
new computerized algebra end-of-course exam delivery system crashes
on first day of administration http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-05-17/features/os-algebra-test-pearson-problems-20110517_1_tests-algebra-high-schools
2011 Oklahoma –
“data quality issues” cause “unacceptable” delay in score delivery
— http://newsok.com/errors-in-testing-data-hold-up-results-for-oklahoma-districts-students/article/3597297
Pearson ultimately replaced by CTB/McGraw Hill
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120714_19_A1_Afters391504
2011 Guam –
score release delayed because results based on flawed
comparison data; government seeks reimbursement — http://www.guampdn.com/article/20111021/NEWS01/110210303
2011 Iowa –
State Ethics and Campaign Finance Disclosure Board opens
investigation of Iowa Education Department director Jason Glass for
participating in all-expenses-paid trip to Brazil sponsored by
Pearson Foundation — http://news.yahoo.com/formal-complaint-against-iowa-education-chief-190455698.html
2011 New York –
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenas financial records from
Pearson Education and Pearson Foundation concerning their
sponsorship of global junkets for dozens of state education leaders
— http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/education/new-york-attorney-general-is-investigating-pearson-education.html
2011 Wyoming –
Board of Education replaces Pearson as state’s test vendor after
widespread technical problems with online exam
(http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/state-education-officials-choose-new-paws-vendor/article_6ba18e9f-858c-5846-8274-db31c13494c1.html)
2012 New York –
“Pineapple and the Hare” nonsense test question removed from exams
after bloggers demonstrate that it was previously administered in
at least half a dozen other states – http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/nyregion/standardized-testing-is-blamed-for-question-about-a-sleeveless-pineapple.html
2012 New York –
More than two dozen additional errors found in New York State tests
developed by Pearson — http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304203604577394492500145150.html
2012 Florida –
After percentage of fourth grades found “proficient” plunges from
81% to 27% in one year, state Board of Education emergency meeting
“fixes” scores on FCAT Writing Test by changing definition of
proficiency. http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Passing-score-lowered-for-FCAT-Writing-exam/-/1637132/13396234/-/k1ckc2z/-/index.html
2012 Virginia –
Error on computerized 3rd and
6th grade SOL tests causes state to offer
free retakes. http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Error_on_SOL_Reading_Test_Gives_Students_Option_to_Retake_154191285.html
2012 New York –
Parents have their children boycott “field test” of new exam
questions because of concerns about Pearson’s process http://rochesterhomepage.net/fulltext?nxd_id=322122
2012 Oklahoma –
After major test delivery delays, state replaces Pearson
as its testing contractor http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=19&articleid=20120714_19_A1_Afters391504
2012 New York –
More than 7,000 New York City elementary and middle school students
wrongly blocked from graduation by inaccurate “preliminary scores”
on Pearson tests http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ed_blunder_mad_grads_JI2z8N6tA6Td0FGiwYSraP
2012 New York –
State officials warn Pearson about potential fines if tests have
more errors http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/fines-bad-questions-state-tests-article-1.1187220
2012
Mississippi – Pearson pays $623,000 for scoring
error repeated over four years that blocked graduation for five
students and wrongly lowered scores for 121 others http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20121025/NEWS01/310240052/Pearson-North-America-scoring-error-prevented-5-Mississippi-students-from-graduating-affected-121-others
2012 Texas –
Pearson computer failure blocks thousands of students from taking
state-mandated exam by displaying error message at log on http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-education/computer-glitch-prevents-some-texas-students-from-/nTMCP/
2013 New York –
Passages from Pearson textbooks appear in Pearson-designed
statewide test, giving unfair advantage to students who used those
materials http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/practice-material-found-upstate-exams-article-1.1321448
2013 New York –
Pearson makes three test scoring mistakes blocking nearly 5,000
students from gifted-and-talented program eligibility http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/education/score-corrections-qualify-nearly-2700-more-pupils-for-gifted-programs.html
2013 Worldwide
– Pearson VUE testing centers around the globe experience major
technical problems, leaving thousands unable to take scheduled
exams or register for new ones http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/04/26/pearson-vue-test-centers-experience-major-problems
2013 New York –
Second error found in New York City gifted-and-talented test
scoring makes 300 more students eligible for special programs http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/education/new-error-found-in-test-scoring-for-gifted-programs.html
2013 England, Wales and
Northern Ireland – General Certificate of Secondary
Education exam in math leaves out questions and duplicates some
others http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10118879/Exam-board-apologises-over-GCSE-test-paper-blunder.html
2013 Texas –
State Auditor finds inadequate monitoring of Pearson’s contract:
vendor determined costs of assessment changes without sufficient
oversight and failed to disclose hiring nearly a dozen former state
testing agency staff http://www.texastribune.org/2013/07/16/state-auditor-finds-testing-contract-oversight-lac/
2013 Virginia –
4,000 parents receive inaccurate test scorecards due to Pearson
error in converting scores to proficiency levels
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/pearson-miscalculates-scorecards-for-more-than-4000-va-students/2013/08/13/5620cc42-042d-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html
Yesterday in our district we received notice that all of Pearson’s internet software (HomeBase, PowerSchool, which includes our new evaluator effectiveness system) was not working. They (our department of public instruction) used the word attack in describing why. I am not sure what that means and I could not find any other information to explain it. But to me it does show the problem with an over-reliance on one big giant, connected place for all central scrutiny and organization to happen. This problem came out of New Jersey (according to the email), yet leaves teachers in NC without access to what our state signed us up for as our main brain terminal type thing.
Tonight NC is showing a program its DPI put together on the new order of things in our public schools. I am not sure I can watch it. (I am not one who can watch things like American Idol, etc.—-I can’t tolerate anything but a good old fashioned drama like Mad Men). But I know people who are watching it. The state DPI provided us with a viewer’s guide so that we would know what we should take from the presentation, which was made in partnership with UNC-TV.
They doth protest too much?
DPI???
department of public instruction
Hey Duane, were you ever a Zappa fan?
Nobody has really caught on to my references to the Central Scrutinizer.
Joe’s Garage.
Politics is the entertainment arm of industry. –Frankie Zappa
“Eventually it was discovered, that God did not want us to be all the same. This was Bad News for the Governments of The World, as it seemed contrary to the doctrine of Portion Controlled Servings. Mankind must be made more uniformly if The Future was going to work. Various ways were sought to bind us all together, but, alas, same-ness was unenforceable. It was about this time, that someone came up with the idea of Total Criminalization. Based on the principle, that if we were all crooks, we could at last be uniform to some degree in the eyes of The Law. […] Total Criminalization was the greatest idea of its time and was vastly popular except with those people, who didn’t want to be crooks or outlaws, so, of course, they had to be Tricked Into It… which is one of the reasons, why music was eventually made Illegal.”
– Joe’s Garage Acts II & III liner notes, 1979.
Joanna,
Used to the ol Zapster a bit. Didn’t have any of his albums but friends did-we tried not to duplicate our albums so that we’d have a wider assortment to listen to. Twasn’t like these days where one can get most any music any time. I’ve always followed Zappa’s sage advice: “watch out where the huskies go and don’t you eat that yellow snow.”
I hope this is not the same Pearson that LAUSD just contracted with to provide all our software for the ipad purchase. If it is, it explains the no-bid contract and the close connection of its former employee, Jaime Aquino, also known in LAUSD as the Deputy Superintendent of Instruction for the ISIC division. Conflict of interest be damn. We operate with the utmost in ethical behavior in LAUSD.
http://youtu.be/Pz2yElx9_rQ Pearson? see for yourself
Zeno. This stuff is wonderful. Awesome. Thank you!!!
AWESOME! Funniest thing I’ve seen all day! I’d already read about all of this, but the video is simply awesome! I’ve had it with their Scot Foresman Common Core Reading Street series, too.
Don’t you mean the Pearson Scot Foresman Common Core Reading Street?
LOl….Great!
…and the beat goes on. Can anyone tell me WHY we continue to waste our time taking these tests, when we are fully aware that the only one benefitting is Pearson! The multitude of articles about Pearson’s incompetence is legendary; yet school districts WORLDWIDE repeat the pattern of testing, via Pearson, year after year.
As an assistant principal, I was responsible for the administration of exams at a L.I. High school (I retired this past June), and I can’t begin to explain the absurdity of these exams —the Field Tests being my all-time favorite! The time that is consumed with testing is unconscionable, and the impact on the students and teachers is immoral. This has to stop. We need to get back to the real practice of education!
We need to STOP the constant testing and allow the teachers and students to do what they do best —- teaching and learning!
Three answers to your question
1. Power
2. Politics
3. Money
The Stress of the Tests will make its rounds and not one student will be more learned as a result of this Chaotic Testing Mania
Thank You!!!!
It gets worse every day….
To complete my thought….As an art teacher, isn’t the student work the outcome? Was it necessary to spend 2 hrs. today writing quarterlies for art classes? It’s the artists of this world who can come up with creative solutions., not the test writers who don’t know anything about kisd, creativity, or higher order thinking skills.
So all we need are math & English skills? What a sad world we are becoming when big business & non educators dictate to teachers .
Ohio just diverted another huge chunk of public money to cybercharters. Cybercharters are the worst publicly-funded schools in the state, but they expand every year, due to the reform industry lobbyist influence in my statehouse.
This is one of the industry websites. Nearly the entire front page is devoted to telling readers how public schools are failing.
http://mosaicaeducation.com/about-mosaica/faqs/
I cannot believe the poor citizens of Ohio are paying for this. It is 100% marketing propaganda.
Cyber should work with the teachers..not replace the teachers.
A world of cyber info and no human contact will produce the socially inept and stunt the creativity of the population.
A drop in the bucket. The Center for Education Policy at the Brookings Institution now puts state expenditures on standardized testing at $1.7 billion annually. What a great racket to be in!
and we are in it, aren’t we? Don’t know how not to be in it, if you’re a teacher.
The only way out of this darkness is Diane Ravitch’s blog to educate those who are misinformed on a daily basis.
Zeno, thank you for the link. Everyone go to the link Zeno put up and watch the Pearson Cartoon. You will get educated and laugh all the way through it.
The zeno cartoons are hilarious!!!
In addition to this (I don’t know where else to post this), the district from which I retired is 3+ weeks into school.
They have opted to take the MAP tests this year, not yet sure if they will also take the ProOhio and IOWA tests in addition to the OAA tests this year.
They have been taking the tests, using the media lab and laptop labs almost constantly since the beginning of the year. Even kindergarteners are using the computers to take tests. Some don’t even recognize all the letters yet.
I have talked to some teachers there. They are frustrated because they have had no time to actually TEACH. No reading groups yet, just tests.
What are they going to have to discuss at the first conferences? What do they do when they aren’t “allowed” to say anything negative to the parents? I used to listen to the parents and “agree” with my eyes … but said nothing that could be quoted.
This is a great district. The teachers work hard. They are able to function independently of the principal, who has had long stretches of absence, leaving the school morale so much better in her absence. The district is in NO danger of being poorly rated. It got the highest letter grade in our county. YET, the teachers are stressed beyond words.
Why are they stressed? They have no time to actually TEACH. They are not sure how kids can make a year’s growth when they are spending time testing for the MAP tests (which on the surface would be ENOUGH to use to diagnose the student needs and if they were the only ones used, might be beneficial … the jury is out on that.)
How do districts use scores obtained under these circumstances reflect a teacher’s ability to teach?
Many teachers have been commisurating about their decision to become teachers and to remain in the teaching profession. This is NOT because of “fear of evaluation” or “low salary”. This is not due to fear of the school being shut down. This is because they have no time to TEACH. These teachers have agreed to frozen salaries since 2007. They volunteer for Art Fair, Music Programs, Girls on the Run, and countless other things in the upper grades. They give their LIVES to their jobs. Is it any wonder that there is so much stress?
Unfortunately the teachers can’t speak out. It is NOT permitted. They have to present a united front, no matter how dumb the demands of the administration.
If morale is this horrible in a district with successful programs and teachers who succeed DESPITE the constantly changing demands of a district that wants to be seen as the Little Engine that Could, what in the world is happening to the teachers in districts with students with more issues? By the way, our district has a substantial number of students who fall into the poverty classification. But we have parents who have been supportive of teachers and against the testing … but have no voice because no one will “listen”.
I forgot to add that the computers have been having some difficulties, connection problems, site problems, server problems, shutting down, etc. The media specialist, principal, and teachers have spent a lot of time proctoring, trouble shooting, and doing anything but their jobs!
Looks like malfeasance to me. Another round of contracts, please.
So many of us can’t understand why Pearson continues to be utilized. Of course, as long as a company make the high stakes test, they can sell all sorts of textbooks, intervention kits, computer programs (the list goes on) with the promise that these products will guarantee good test scores, since Pearson themselves make the test. I am required to utilize Pearson-made products daily and have been consistently disappointed.
So, are we (American Public Education) “stuck” with Pearson and its products? Is there ANYTHING we as educators and principals can do?
Found this by chance-I’m an adult student studying in the UK for a childcare diploma which uses Pearson Portfolio. Right from the start, this seemed to be the most confusing site I’ve ever used. There seem to be problems with marking scores not being added to the progress bar. Now, marked work has ‘unmarked itself’. Not to mention all the other annoying and inconvenient features of the site. So badly designed it makes me angry on a weekly basis. I couldn’t understand why it’s being used so googled ‘Pearson’ and found this. Oh yes, the course textbook is published by Heinemann, owned by…you guessed it-Pearson! My son asked me for a couple of exam course books (UK high school)-yep-it’s Pearson again. They seem to have such a monopoly in the UK too – it’s very worrying.