We previously learned that Pearson hires people to score tests by advertising on Craig’s List.
Now we find that other testing companies are hiring test scorers through Kelly Temps.
So you thought your child’s make-or-break test was scored by a retired teacher. Think again. The odds are that the written answers will be quickly skimmed and scored by someone with a BA working for just above the minimum wage.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I wouldn’t be surprised if robots aren’t being considered… They don’t even need to take a lunch break!
Are you kidding–they are being considered! That’s exactly what automated essay scoring is, computers that don’t read but score student tests…
It is already being used.
http://www.utahwrite.com/Home/Help#WhatIsPEG
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/education/robo-readers-used-to-grade-test-essays.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.measurementinc.com/news/mis-automated-essay-scoring-system-takes-first-prize-national-competition
http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2014/03/25/why-computer-scored-essays-could-eliminate-the-need-for-writing-tests/
The computer scoring is even more accurate than human scores, or at least that’s what the testing companies are claiming.
Howard
Well, since Gates wanted to store children’s personal data in Amazon’s cloud, wouldn’t it be more efficient to just have the temp workers in Jeff Bezo’s sweatshop warehouses grade them while they race to supply orders?
Just think of the potential productivity improvements!
If you haven’t read it, read Making the Grade: My Misadventures in the Standardized Testing Industry, by Todd Farley
Data Recognition Corporation is the company that PA uses for the keystone exams and the PSSA’s. According to their website, they employ 490 full time employees and 4000 seasonal employees. They have seasonal employment opportunities currently available. PA spends millions on contracts to this company. Figures vary but in 2011 PA signed a 5 year contract reportably worth 200 million with DRC. Can the test question creators and test scorers match the credentials of PA teachers? I believe this is an important question since these high stakes tests are now tied to teacher evaluations. Parents should also be asking these questions since graduation requirements are being tied to these exams.
I personally know a person who has worked as a grader. Got the job of evaluating high-stakes tests from Craig’s List. This person is NOT qualified to evaluate any student’s work. This person does NOT even like kids, knows nothing about them developmentally and has NO TEACHING credentials whatsoever. It is scary. I wouldn’t want this person evaluating any student’s tests or work.
For viewers of this blog that agree with Robert Schumann’s observation that
“There is no end to learning.”
1), Todd Farley, MAKING THE GRADES: MY MISADVENTURES IN THE STANDARDIZED TESTING INDUSTRY, 2009, paperback.
2), Dan DiMaggio, “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Test Scorer,” accessed at —
Link: http://monthlyreview.org/2010/12/01/the-loneliness-of-the-long-distance-test-scorer
Great reads. Uncomfortable reads. Revealing reads.
And completely unread by the self-styled “education reformers” who are leading the “new civil rights movement of our time.”
But for the rest of us, we hold fast to Frederick Douglass:
“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.”
😎
P.S. Thank you, wordsmith23! I was writing my comments before you posted.
Last year I was invited to be a “floor supervisor” during scoring of a state math assessment. I was horrified to find that the correct answer to one of the questions was not on the list of “approved” answers. I was able to get it listed, but it left me wondering how often this happens – especially when the scorers don’t seem to need any specific expertise in math.
If anyone wants to get in on the action, no need to go through Kelly. And the starting pay for new readers is $10.70 per hour. Of course you don’t get any benefits, but what do you want everything?
http://wilmington.craigslist.org/edu/4371361178.html
Howard, we’ve ALL got to be “mad as hell, and we’re not gonna take it anymore!!” Please read my comments below–you all know what to do!
Getting mad is a good first step. A better step is to try and use their technology against them. If all the students would “doodle” on certain parts of the scannable forms it would cause lots of trouble. Scanners don’t like stray marks.
http://help.riversidepublishing.com:8080/robohelp/robo/server/Data_Manager_Dev/projects/DM_Optical_Mark_Recognition_Help/Preparing_Answer_Documents_for_Scanning.htm
This is beyond maddening !! I might be premature, but can anyone foresee a national boycott beginning ??? Or am I just hopeful????
I wanted to respond to the recent post “Pear$on Wants YOU!” RE: Pear$on’s expenditures on the quarter page, color ads they place (& have been. for at least the past 3 years) in city & local newspapers, but didn’t find one (we’re behind on our newspaper reading, particularly want ads) until yesterday, & then had time to call the Chicago paper it was in. ONE quarter-page ad for ONE day in ONE city newspaper cost a whopping FOUR THOU$AND, THREE HUNDRED and FORTY DOLLAR$!!!
(This is any day, including Sunday.) Now, multiply that by all the cities & ‘burbs Pear$on must advertise in. Gee, no wonder Pear$on need$ all tho$e $$$ they are $ucking from our schools! Also–for those of you who’ve read their ads–did you notice this gem:
“Performance Pay By Response
Earn a set amount for each student response scored. Employees can earn an average $13.00/hour with the potential to earn more.”
Wow! That means that the more responses one scores, the more $$$ one makes–doesn’t matter how faulty the scoring is–just push ’em on through! As I commented on the previous post, can you IMAGINE just what goes on w/those evening shift (6-10 PM) people who work a full-time job, then start a second one test-scoring at 6 PM?
Their methods must be so flawless and, I would think, mistakes would hardly be made!
Not much, unfortunately, has changed since Farley’s 2009 book (FIVE years ago!).
In fact, it’s gotten even worse, because there’s been absolutely NO accountability called for by ANYONE in charge of education (local, state, federal) so–not only does Pear$on have no quality control with regard to their crappy tests, there is no control over the crappy scoring of these crappy tests. Come on, legislators, call for action!
And–parents–OPT YOUR KIDS OUT (ESPECIALLY out of the upcoming field tests–there is NO reason for them {do you REALLY think Pear$on is going to improve their tests based on them?} & it is all another COLOSSAL waste of our children’s precious educational time {and OUR taxpayer $$$}!) Heck, even lab rats get treats!
Maybe this could be John King’s next job!
I just found this blog entry and I’m scoring narrative writing as we speak; this is my second year doing essays (last year was expository writing). I’m not a drone; I have a Master’s degree in a liberal arts field as well as experience with other languages. The pay is good for work I can complete on my butt from the comfort of my own home while being a stay-at-home parent. But darned if I don’t get frustrated every year because even with only four score points, the rubric is a moving target. One paper may receive a score point 2 for “weak” development, and one that is nearly identical will receive a score point 3 for strong understanding of the task and excellent mechanics. I always start a project thinking I have a thorough understanding of the rubric, and as time goes on I become less and less sure of myself since each score point has multiple components, and it’s unclear how to weigh one against the others. I can’t imagine grading the exams with six score points.