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| MEAP Mess; Re-Do for 5th and 6th Graders | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 11 2007, 05:31 PM (1,552 Views) | |
| Mrs.M | Oct 11 2007, 05:31 PM Post #1 |
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http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14321210/detail.html Security Breach Forces Students To Retake Written MEAP Test POSTED: 5:12 pm EDT October 11, 2007 UPDATED: 5:22 pm EDT October 11, 2007 DETROIT -- The Michigan Department of Education has deemed that all fifth-and-sixth graders in Michigan must retake the written portion of the MEAP test due to a statewide security breach. The MDE said they discovered on Tuesday that a reporter from the Jackson Citizen Patriot was allowed into a Jackson Public School District while students were taking the test. Officials said the reporter violated the rules by photographing the test and publishing one of the essay questions. The article was made available online. An investigation was launched and the school faces sanctions and penalties. Officials said there is nothing they can do to penalize the reporter of the paper. MDE officials said students who have already taken the written portion of the MEAP test will have to take another version and districts that have not taken the test will take a revised test. A compromise of this sort has never happened on a statewide level and if it went unresolved, it could cause problems with national funding, said an MDE official. |
| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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| Deleted User | Oct 11 2007, 05:34 PM Post #2 |
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Thanks for posting that Mrs.M!!! My daughter was telling me about this over dinner, and she had me scrambling to get the facts about it :lol: !! |
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| Mrs.M | Oct 11 2007, 05:43 PM Post #3 |
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http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...NEWS06/71011065 Thousands may have to retake portion of MEAP because of newspaper leak October 11, 2007 By CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY and PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITERS Fifth- and sixth-graders across the state may have to retake a portion of the MEAP test because a local newspaper described part of the test this week, a move that state officials fear may have tipped off students to test questions. “A school district allowed a newspaper reporter into a classroom that was administering the MEAP test, which violates the testing rules, and allowed a photographer in to take a photograph of a students taking the MEAP test, which violates the rules,” said Martin Ackley, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education. “Then the reporter interviewed the students and published the writing prompts,” Ackley said. “In his article, he basically divulged what the fifth- and sixth-grade prompts were.” The test cues ran in both the print and online version of the Jackson Citizen Patriot, Ackley said. The school district was Jackson Public Schools. The state is in the process of working with the contractor which produces the test to get another test question developed and printed, Ackley said. He wasn't sure what the entire process would cost. “We understand that this causes disruption in the MEAP and some stress for students, teachers and administrators, but it was the action of one school that caused this,” Ackley said. “If kids who hadn't taken it yet read the article, then they could practice writing it.” Ackley said the department knows some students will not do as well on the second question. “We understand that, but we have no choice,” Ackley said. The question counts as 30% of the writing test. And No Child Left Behind requires states to test their curriculum standards. Without this question, not all of the state's writing standards will be tested, he said. The state hopes to know by early next week when the new writing question will be available. The MEAP testing window ends Oct. 26, but that date may be pushed back to allow time for the new question. There could be penalties, possibly a financial penalty, for the school district, Ackley said. “We don't want to penalize students for egregious mistakes made by adults,” Ackley said. “It's important the schools abide by the rules and if they don't, there are penalties involved.” The MEAP, which stands for Michigan Educational Assessment Program, is a statewide exam given to students in grades three through nine. Students are tested on reading, writing, science, social studies and math. The test scores are used to help determine whether schools meet federal standards. Poor scores over several years can lead to consequences such as district-paid tutoring, school closures or loss of funding. . |
| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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| Deleted User | Oct 11 2007, 05:44 PM Post #4 |
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So far, it sounds like 5th graders at Johnson will have to re-take the written portion. I can't confirm this, because it is after hours. I will try to find out tonight exactly which kids need to re-take the written portion of the test. Please feel free to post the info if you get it. I think it is a little early to know everything though. |
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| Mrs.M | Oct 11 2007, 05:45 PM Post #5 |
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Oh NO, thank you Jimid for this fine tool you've instigated (I mean inititated) to increase communication in this city. |
| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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| Vanna White | Oct 12 2007, 07:30 AM Post #6 |
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MI_...EMPLATE=DEFAULT Oct 11, 7:26 PM EDT Fifth- and sixth-graders will retake MEAP after breach By DAVID EGGERT Associated Press Writer LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Fifth- and sixth-graders across Michigan who have taken a writing portion of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test will have to take a new version because a newspaper published information about essays on the test. It was unclear Thursday how many students that affects, said Martin Ackley, spokesman for the state Department of Education. Michigan has 260,000 students in fifth and sixth grades who were scheduled to take MEAP tests over a three-week period. A reporter for the Jackson Citizen Patriot was allowed to interview students about the test Monday, and a story appeared in Tuesday's paper disclosing the prompt - or lead-in - to an essay. That led the education department to flag a security breach. Students will not need to retake other sections of the writing test. "The department had no choice but to do this - to maintain the integrity of the test and to ensure fairness for all students across Michigan," Ackley said. Citizen Patriot Editor Eileen Lehnert said the reporter, Chad Livengood, got permission to interview students about the test, was not told that doing so was off-limits and the paper did not know students take the same test on different days. "We had no idea we were doing something that could hurt the school, the district or the state," she said. "I'm not convinced the principal or teacher knew there were guidelines either. It was supposed to be a positive story and it's turned into a fiasco." Lehnert asked if security is so important, why students around the state take the test on different days. Nothing would prevent a student, for example, from coming home after the test and posting questions on a MySpace Web page for other schoolchildren to see. Ackley said a Jackson elementary public school did not follow the school district's policy that all media requests be handled by the district's media relations office. The writing question made up 30 percent of the writing score, which is part of the English language arts test. The score can contribute to schools making or not making adequate yearly progress toward federal standards. Districts that have not already given the part of the English test that was compromised have been told to skip that portion and continue with administering others parts of the assessment. The state is working with the MEAP testing contractor to get a new version, which all students will take. The breach will delay reporting of MEAP results, Ackley said. He could not estimate how much money it will cost to distribute a new test. Livengood posted a statement on the paper's Web site apologizing for any problems his story created but added: "I'm not an expert on MEAP rules and I rely heavily on school officials to tell me what the classroom access boundaries are." |
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| Vanna White | Oct 12 2007, 07:32 AM Post #7 |
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Good question. <_< |
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| Vanna White | Oct 12 2007, 07:34 AM Post #8 |
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From the Detroit News: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../710120406/1026 Friday, October 12, 2007 MEAP leak forces retest for thousands of students Test questions for fifth-, sixth- graders reported in Jackson paper prompt costly state action. After the Michigan Department of Education decided to recall about 250,000 fifth- and sixth-grade writing MEAP tests, the state asked a testing contractor to develop a new writing portion. All fifth- and sixth-graders will have to take the new test, but it's unknown when the new version will be ready. Thousands of fifth- and sixth-graders statewide will have to retake the writing portion of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test after a newspaper published sensitive information about the test this week, according to the Michigan Department of Education. State officials don't know how many of the more than 250,000 fifth- and sixth-graders in Michigan have already taken the test, but all will be given the new writing section. "It's not like we were going to find out the answers," Brooke Nemens, 10, a sixth-grader at L'Anse Creuse Middle School -- North, said after she heard the news. "I don't even read the newspaper." Brooke, who took the test earlier this week, said it was easy but she doesn't want to take it again. The newspaper that revealed two of the writing topics -- the Jackson Citizen Patriot -- is more than 100 miles away from her, but the breach presented a question of fairness, said Department of Education spokesman Martin Ackley. "The Department of Education had no choice but to make this extraordinary decision," he said. "We have to maintain the integrity of the test, and we have to ensure fairness for every student in Michigan." The topic that was revealed accounted for 30 percent of the writing portion, he said. If the state didn't require students to retake the test, which is approved by the U.S. Department of Education, Michigan could be in violation of requirements set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Ackley said. The development and distribution of a new writing section could cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said. The decision to retest students was made after the department learned a reporter was allowed into Jackson Public Schools during the administration of the test, a violation of Michigan's testing ethics, Ackley said. It's unclear when a new writing section for fifth- and sixth-graders will be ready. The testing window for grades 3-8 runs Oct. 8-26. Ackley said he hopes to know by next week how soon the testing contractor will be able to develop the new section. A delay also could force the state to push back the release of all schools' test results, he said. This year, MEAP results were released in January for tests taken the previous fall. The Michigan Department of Education is exploring possible penalties against Jackson schools, Ackley said. Although her daughter didn't want to retake the test, Brenda Nemens said students should. "I think they should have to do that for the security of the answer," she said. "But they put way too much emphasis on the MEAPs. My kids get stressed out." Schools were notified of the issue Wednesday, but Dearborn Schools Superintendent John Artis said he learned about it Thursday because Dearborn Schools were closed for two days in observance of Ramadan, a holy period for Muslims. Many Dearborn students are Muslim. Because of that, he didn't know whether the test had already been given to Dearborn's fifth- and sixth-graders, but he said he hopes the Jackson paper will consider paying for the costs of the "fiasco." Educators who would engage in a similar breach of security could have charges brought against them, he said. Citizen Patriot Editor Eileen Lehnert told The Associated Press the reporter, Chad Livengood, had permission to interview students about the test and was not told that doing so was off-limits. "We had no idea we were doing something that could hurt the school, the district or the state," she said. "I'm not convinced the principal or teacher knew there were guidelines either. It was supposed to be a positive story and it's turned into a fiasco." Artis also was frustrated that the error could cause teachers and students to lose another day of instruction to re-administer the test. "Kids lose all the way around," he said. "They lose because they have to take (the test) again, and that's one less opportunity for participation in our regular instruction." You can reach Jennifer Mrozowski at (313) 222-2269 or jmrozowski@detnews.com. |
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| Vanna White | Oct 12 2007, 07:40 AM Post #9 |
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From the Free Press: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...EWS01/710120381 Part of MEAP must be retaken Jackson newspaper reveals test topics October 12, 2007 BY CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY and PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITERS Thousands of Michigan fifth and sixth graders will have to retake the writing portion of the MEAP test because a Jackson newspaper printed essay topics from the writing exam -- a move that state officials fear may have tipped off students who had not taken the test. Testing rules were violated Monday when Hunt Elementary School in the Jackson school district allowed reporter Chad Livengood of the Citizen Patriot into a classroom that was administering the MEAP test, officials said. "In his article, he basically divulged what the fifth and sixth grade prompts were," said Martin Ackley, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education. "If kids who hadn't taken it yet read the article, then they could practice writing it." The test questions were printed Tuesday with an article and were added to the newspaper's Web site on Thursday. Stories usually are posted the day they appear in print, but some glitch in the system led to the two-day delay. Education officials don't know how many students had not been tested by that point, but they estimated the number in the thousands. While the state acknowledges it has no authority to take action against the newspaper, there could be penalties -- possibly financial -- for the Jackson school district, Ackley said. "This was supposed to be a nice story about the MEAP," said Eileen Lehnert, editor of the Citizen Patriot. "I feel really bad that this is a problem," she added, but said the reporter did exactly as he was instructed by school officials, checking with them all along the reporting process. The reporter blogged on the newspaper Web site that he was never told he could not write about test questions. "I can't figure out how we could have done anything differently," she said. Lehnert also said that if the state is worried about keeping the test questions secret, it should shorten the 3-week window during which districts can give the MEAP. "With the fluidity of technology these days, what's to stop a fifth- or sixth-grader from leaving the MEAP and putting the topic up on a MySpace page?" she asked. The state is in the process of developing and printing new test questions, Ackley said. He wasn't sure what the process would cost. He said the state education department knows retesting will be difficult for students and school districts. "We understand that, but we have no choice," he said. The MEAP, which stands for Michigan Educational Assessment Program, is given to students in grades three through nine. Students are tested on reading, writing, science, social studies and math. The test scores help determine whether schools meet federal standards. Poor scores over several years can lead to consequences such as school closures or loss of funding. Teacher Brenda Flowers was upset when she found out about the breach Thursday, the day her students completed the English exams after spending four straight mornings on them. "It's a hassle that you have to motivate the kids again to repeat something they have already tried their best on," said Flowers, a lead teacher at Colin Powell Academy in Detroit. Gary Graybowski, whose daughter, Erin, is a sixth grader at Berkshire Middle School in the Birmingham School District, said retaking the test will be an interruption. "MEAP isn't a 45-minute fire drill ... It's days of time she could be using spending quality time in her normal studies," he said. Sixth graders have enough hassles without this one, Graybowski said. "She just started middle school. ... So if they're going to have to redo their MEAP, it's just one more thing that makes that transition more difficult," he added. Erin, 11, said the test wasn't hard, but she wouldn't want to take it again. "It was already a pain as it is," she said. "I wouldn't call it difficult, more stretching, pretty long, kind of too much to do." The essay questions at issue -- one for fifth grade, the other for sixth -- count as 30% of the writing test. And the federal No Child Left Behind law requires states to test their curriculum standards. Without this question, not all of the state's writing standards will be tested, Ackley said. The Department of Education hopes to know by early next week when the new writing questions will be available. The MEAP testing window ends Oct. 26, but that date may be pushed back to allow for the retesting. Contact CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY at 313-223-4537 or cpratt@freepress.com. Big mistake Thousands of fifth and sixth graders will have to retake a portion of the MEAP test. What happened? The Jackson Citizen Patriot newspaper published essay questions Tuesday as part of an article about the start of the three-week MEAP exam period. Why the big fuss? The essay portion accounts for 30% of the writing test score. MEAP scores help determine whether schools meet federal standards, and failing results in penalties. Test questions are supposed to be kept secret by school personnel. What's next? The Michigan Department of Education wants to ensure students who had not taken the test did not gain an unfair advantage. A new essay portion will be given. Chastity Pratt Dawsey . Post a Comment View All Comments -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DennisP This is way overboard. It is a benchmark test. Just ignore the two or three questions published on everyone's exam and score the rest of the exam. We are financially strapped. We don't need to republish and have every 5th and 6th grader in the state retake this thing. As for Jackson Citizen Patriot--how STUPID can they and their reporter be. They should be billed for any extra expenses they cause. Oh, "no one ever told us we couldn't publish exam questions . . . " Do you have to be told the obvious? I think everyone in that two-bit newspaper should be required to also take the 5th grade MEAP tests. I'm sure the failing grades will astound that paper's board of directors. Testing is done. It's time for the kids to learn in school, not take tests all day. Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:41 am -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NorthEastSida Everybody has to retake that part of the test because that way, the school districts can add that cost as an expense. That way, they can justify why they need a budget increase to refute the possibility of their budgets getting cut. Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:21 am -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- slap Why should all kids in the state redo this test? Nobody outside of Jackson reads this paper. Plus, if kids in Jackson took this portion of the test on Monday, then wouldn't other districts follow same timeline? If so, then most kids would have already taken the test, before it appeared in print. Also, this story wasn't posted on the newspapers web site until Thursday. I think that each school district should report back to MEAP if the kids had taken that portion of the test before this story broke online. I'm sure they'd find far fewer would need to retake! Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:52 am -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BeeBop Do you think maybe we have gone a bit overboard on the testing of our elementary students? Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:47 am |
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| Vanna White | Oct 12 2007, 07:48 AM Post #10 |
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Isn't is possible to ask that your child not be required to take the MEAP, and in particular, retake a portion they already completed? My son was really upset to see this on the news this morning. He says he already finished the writing portion and it's not fair to have to retake the test, since he doesn't know anything about what the Jackson newspaper said. I tried to explain, but couldn't really disagree with his reasoning. If kids already take the test on different days, the possibility that questions or prompts could be shared already exists. What's to stop a teacher or school administrator from calling a friend that works in another district and sharing the same info? Obviously their professional ethics should, but can we assume that every teacher in the state is 100% ethical? Not possible in any job IMO. This mess is pretty funny, except the part where my kid was almost in tears. |
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| Nikki | Oct 12 2007, 08:03 AM Post #11 |
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It's interesting what the kids/parents think about it:
I wouldn't let my kid take it again. The MEAP wastes enough instruction time already. Once is enough! They should just omit the questions that were released. It's unreasonable to put kids through this twice. |
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| Sourapples | Oct 12 2007, 08:05 AM Post #12 |
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I agree with the person who stated that the state should just cut those questions out of the scoring and move on. The Meap is a joke and a waste of valuable education time. Get over it and teach the kids! |
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| Vanna White | Oct 19 2007, 10:57 AM Post #13 |
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http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140--178404--,00.html Schools Given New Schedule for 5th and 6th Grade MEAP Writing Tests Contact: Martin Ackley, Director of Communications 517-241-4395 Agency: Education October 18, 2007 LANSING – Last week, there was a security breach of the MEAP’s writing prompt at grades 5 and 6. To ensure fairness to all students and to protect the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status of each school giving that test, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) directed all school districts to not give that writing test to any students who had not taken it yet and that all 5th and 6th grade students would have to take a replacement version of that part of the MEAP writing test. Upon request by MDE, the U.S. Department of Education verified that the decision to give the replacement writing prompt to all 5th and 6th grade students was, indeed, the appropriate measure to take. This morning, MDE received a verbal expression of concern from the U. S. Department of Education that failing to test all grade 5 and 6 students using a replacement prompt threatens the validity of the writing scores, and that there is a real risk that all schools in the state of Michigan with 5th and 6th graders would not make AYP if any other course of action were taken. “We know that this is an unfortunate consequence of a newspaper’s revealing in a news article what those writing prompts were,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. “However, we have to be certain that we do everything necessary to be fair to all students; protect the integrity of the MEAP tests; and not put schools at risk of not making AYP. “We appreciate the understanding of school districts, teachers, parents, and above all, the 5th and 6th grade students affected by this situation,” Flanagan said. The replacement writing prompt will be delivered to schools by November 2, with schools directed to give the new part of the writing test between November 5-13. That one-week window for testing is being provided to accommodate this unplanned testing with schools’ previously planned local schedules. No final cost estimates for this replacement test have been determined at this time, nor has any decision been made by MDE as to any consequences for the school district that allowed for the security breach of the MEAP test. Following is an update given to Michigan school districts regarding the administration and return procedures for both the current MEAP tests and the replacement writing prompt for English Language Arts (ELA) at grades 5 and 6: For grades 5 and 6 only, the existing MEAP ELA Part 1A has been compromised and will not be scored. Students at grades 5 and 6 who have not already taken MEAP ELA Part 1A should skip Part 1A. Part 1A responses from students who have already responded to the existing prompt are to be left as written on the answer document. They are not to be erased, modified, deleted, read, copied, or otherwise communicated in any manner. Even though Part 1A is considered comprised, the entire answer document should continue to be treated as a secure document. It is imperative that all grade 5 and 6 students complete all the parts of the existing ELA tests except Part 1A. All testing using the existing forms must be completed during the current assessment window ending Friday, October 26, 2007. Secure materials are to be shipped to the scoring contractor according to the original instructions (with pickup date at the school no later than Wednesday, October 31, 2007). Replacement prompts for ELA Part 1A are in the process of being printed. They will be shipped from the contractor to meet a delivery date to schools of November 1st or 2nd. The delivery dates were selected to avoid having both the existing test and the replacement prompts in buildings at the same time. The window for administering the replacement prompt is Monday, November 5, 2007 through Tuesday, November 13. All replacement materials should be shipped from schools to the Scoring Contractor by November 14. In addition to the time needed to distribute test booklets and read directions, schools should schedule 50 minutes for students to respond to the prompt. As with all MEAP tests, there is no time limit for students to respond. Follow the procedures specified in the test directions for any student who needs additional time to complete their response. The replacement prompts will be provided to schools in a “self-contained” test booklet, with one form containing one prompt for each grade. The “self-contained” test booklet is a combination test booklet and answer document, similar to the grade 3 ELA and mathematics booklets. A set of directions for the test administrator (three pages) will be shipped with the booklets. |
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