Had another story on the front page today:

The state’s chief regulator of teachers is increasing the priority it places on policing cheating on the TAKS test.

A new set of rules, approved by the State Board for Educator Certification this month, will devote more resources to investigating teachers suspected of doctoring student answers. The rules would also make it easier for school districts to know whether someone applying for a job is suspected of cheating in another district.

“There’s no point in giving a TAKS test if we can’t know the results of that test are the true reflection of a child’s knowledge,” said Bonnie Cain, the superintendent of Pearland schools and the state board’s acting president. “There’s no good in having a test if it doesn’t have integrity.”

The changes come after a Dallas Morning News story in October that found problems with the way schools were informed of the findings of a state investigation into cheating in the now-defunct Wilmer-Hutchins district. That investigation identified 22 educators who it said “were involved in testing irregularities,” like giving students answer keys or doctoring test documents.

At least 10 of those educators quickly found jobs in other districts, many of which had no knowledge of the findings until informed by The News.

(Substitute “me” for “The News.”)

23 January 2007

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