Pearson, the British megacorporation, appears to have won the PARCC Common Core contract, which is worth about $1 billion. Its tests will be administered to 6-10 million children in 14 states. The third grade tests will take eight hours. The high school tests will take 10 hours. PARCC is also developing tests for kindergarten, first and second grades.
FAIRTEST has compiled a catalogue of known Pearson errors:
PEARSON’S HISTORY OF TESTING PROBLEMS
compiled by Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
Updated May 5, 2014
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)
2007-2011 Mississippi – subcontractor programs correct answer as incorrect resulting in erroneous results for almost four years during which time 126 students flunked the exam due to that wrongly scored item. Auditors criticized Pearson’s quality control checks, and the firm offered $600,000 in scholarships as compensation
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. 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 Illinois – 144 student in five Chicago schools wrongly received zeroes due to scoring error. The state sought nearly $1.7 million from Pearson, which could not explain how the errors occurred.
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 Oklahoma – State identifies 18 significant problems with Pearson’s tests leading to $8 million penalty settlement. http://newsok.com/oklahoma-education-department-reviews-contracts-in-wake-of-standardized-testing-errors/article/3601417
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 –
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 – three Pearson test scoring mistakes block 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
2013 New York – New Pearson Common Core textbooks are “full of errors,” including in sample test items http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/textbooks-recommended-dept-education-full-errors-teachers-article-1.1512852
2013 New York – Pearson fined $7.7 million by New York State for using its non-profit foundation arm to steer business to the firm http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/nyregion/educational-publishers-charity-accused-of-seeking-profits-will-pay-millions.html
2014 National – Pearson notifies students who took the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) in 2011 that their exams had been miscored https://dianeravitch.net/2014/04/17/pearsons-errors-matter/
2014 Florida – State education commissioner seeks penalties after schools in 26 counties suspend Pearson’s new computerized tests because server problems prevent students from logging on and freeze screens http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/pasco-hernando-schools-battling-computer-problems-during-fcat/2176268
2014 New York – Printing errors result in missing questions and blank pages in Pearson-designed statewide math assessment http://news.wbfo.org/post/missing-pages-statewide-math-assessments
2014 Texas – Pearson emails out two test questions to teachers days before the exam is administered http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/05/questions-on-two-staar-exams-were-accidentally-emailed-out-last-month.html/
If you have questions or additional examples, contact Bob Schaeffer.
Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office- (239) 395-6773 fax- (239) 395-6779
mobile- (239) 696-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org
Diane Ravitch's blog 
If corporations are now considered, then why can’t Pearson be fired? Why can’t it be sued and allowed to take a real hit and loss like REAL people do? Corporations do tons of damage and get a slap on the wrist with some fine that isn’t even a day’s “earnings”. Real people get hit with lawsuits that wipe out their entire life’s savings and bankrupt them. Maybe the solution is for every person in the US to become a corporation and to take advantage of the loopholes created by corporations to dodge responsibility. But, of course, those of us with a conscience would not be able to go through with it. Hmmm.
…consideredto be people…sorry for error. My phone update has punctuation keys in new places and it causes me to delete words.
Notice that Florida appears 9 times. Teachers here lose their license after 2 low VAM scores. Pearson can do no wrong, however, with their luxury building in Talahassee right across the street from the capitol, and their fistfulls of lobbying dollars. No matter how many times they screw up they make millions. We are going with AIR for the CCSS tests though because the tea party started screaming their conspiracy theories and the state DOE withdrew from PARCC because it is an election year and the tea party governor wants to be ere-elected. Pearson isn’t going away.
Oh, Pearson got the contract? How surprising! Was there a bidding process? There are a lot of complaints filed against Pearson? It is OK. Only
Teachers are expected to be held accountable.
As an educator in Illinois – if I made that many errors in my instruction, I’d be looking for a new career.
That’s easy to explain:
Zeroes* are like Gremlins.
When you have Zeroes making the exams and Zeroes grading them (and Zeroes mandating the tests to begin with), you are bound to have Zeroes finding their way into the scores.
It’s inevitable.
*not to be confused with Zorroes, the millions of teachers who will just as inevitably out-fox the Zeroes with their whits and words in the end
On a less serious note: How do you suppose even a single student with a score of “zero” might affect a teacher’s VAM score?
And they will be basing firing decisions on this?
It’s actually simple (child’s play) to put in checks for anomalies like “144(!) zeroes” in the automated scoring process.
The fact that Pearson did not do that and sent out the scores means that they also have Zeroes in their software development department, Zeroes in their software QC department and/or Zeroes in their statistics division if they indeed have the latter (I have my serious doubts).
I guess it makes perfect sense that Microsoft would be teaming up with Pearson — to add more Zeroes after the “dismal” point.
Who should own a test? The teachers, that’s who. Those closest to the students and to the test are in the best possible position to analyze results and fix problems. Why is the American military so strong? Because the soldier on the ground is given at least some leeway to deal with a situation and not blindly follow orders.
And with all these errors, let us also take into account how some districts take the test manually while others are required to use laptops and all the ensuing problems resulting from use of laptops. Is this a test about IT operations on large scale and infrastructure or is it a “test” of students’ knowledge? There was the British invasion leading eventually to the formation of our country; there was the British invasion of the Beatles leading to a whole new genre of music- rock; and then there is the Pearson testing invasion… what is this leading to????????? Increasing the wealth of the global 1 per center “club”???
“. . . there was the British invasion of the Beatles leading to a whole new genre of music- rock. . . ”
Tell that to Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins or even Elvis.
12 of those dates involve Pearson problems in New York State. As a retired NYS teacher if my teaching was that flawed I’d have been fired by the third incident. Are we slow learners or what?! Time to put Pearson behind us.
“. . . a catalogue of known Pearson errors.”
Just think of how thick that catalogue would be if we were allowed to read and review each test and test item!!
Agreed. I would have no idea if there were errors on my students tests.
We know where they [the Pearson errors] are. They’re in the area around London and Washington, DC and east, west, south, and north somewhat….
There are errors we know that we know. There are known unknown errors. That is to say there are errors that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknown errors. There are errors we do not know we don’t know.
Hope that helps to clarify things
Sincerely,
Pearson, PLC
We trust them to say if our teachers are Master teachers.
???
You mean the edTPA, right? I tried to qualify as a scorer, figuring that I should see what it was like before I criticized the assessment.
Even with 20 years of classroom experience and National Board Certification I failed to qualify to score the edTPA. If people like me aren’t scoring, who is?
I’m now looking for other teachers to see if my experience was unique or not. See my blog entry for details: http://www.kelafferty.com/?p=590
And what of the children whose futures are dramatically impacted by test error? No high school diploma, not allowed to attend special classes, e.g. AP or magnet schools, because they no longer qualify, held back a grade and essentially told they are failures. What has happened to these children in the one, two or three years before they discover the errors? How much of these fines are targeted to help these children? What means does a teacher or a school have to say these scores are wrong for an individual child? Before the damage is done?
Great questions.
This is being treated as if it were simply a matter of simple (and minor) “contract violation”, with a slap on the wrist ($7.7 million when they stand to make $1 billion) and ‘be on your merry way” approach.
The impacts on students and teachers are completely ignored. And even if they do challenge “errors”, the burden of proof falls on teachers and the families of students, who will have to spend their own money to prove the errors and demonstrate “harm.”
The pattern is not without precedent. Tobacco industry, pesticide industry, oil and gas industries, etc, I actually wouldn’t be surprised if their is a lawsuit cap written into the Pearson contract.
This is actually grotesque.
Is this another federal boondoggle equal to the F-35 Fighter jet? This is what happens when there are huge federal programs in defense. It seems the Obama administration wants to extend this incompetency and over-costs to the state public education systems.
Errors or not, sounds like a lot of money and children’s time to spend on data collection. Data hoarding, that’s all it is, nothing productive.
In $$$$$$$ we trust. Sad.
There definitely is a problem. The other problem is that enough people think someone else should solve it.
Thanks for sharing this and thanks to FairTest for assembling this data.