STAR-Test Cheating In Other Districts Delays Scores

STAR-test results, typically mailed to parents in July, are delayed to mid-September, due to possible social-media cheating discovered by the California Department of Education. 

The Pleasanton Unified School District said in an email that the cheating did not occur locally, and there was no impact on the Standardized Testing and Reporting scores.

"The CDE has assured us that 'these analyses found no evidence that
exposure of any test materials had a significant impact on any result,'" PUSD said, adding that the state is implementing policies to prevent future breaches in test security.

During STAR testing in April, Educational Testing Services, the testing contractor, reportedly discovered that students had posted images of test materials to social networking sites, PUSD said.

No details were given to which school districts were involved. 

While the posted images did not contain test items or completed answers, the CDE undertook a concerted analyses of any impact the security breaches may have had on test results to ensure integrity of scores, said Deborah V.H. Sigman, deputy superintendent of public instruction district, school and innovation branch of CDE. 

California schools administer STAR tests to children in grades two through 11 to assess performance in reading, writing, math, science and history. 

While Pleasanton parents' mailings are expected in September, full, detailed test results will not be available to schools and district staff until October, PUSD said.