Dive Brief:

• New Jersey education officials are looking into the recent revelation that Pearson has been scouring social media outlets like Twitter for student posts about the PARCC exam it created.
• The state's probe is to make sure student privacy was not compromised when Pearson scoped out the social media comments. 
• According to education officials in the state, Pearson was checking social media for security reasons to make sure test questions or answers were not being posted, and they say this behavior is actually quite normal.

Dive Insight:

The news about Pearson's social media monitoring broke earlier this week after a New Jersey student at Watchung Hills Regional High School tweeted about the PARCC exam. While the education officials say this is nothing out of the ordinary, many school administrators, parents, and students  have vocalized concern that it is a breach of privacy and that they are unsure how the comments are being used, or for what.

Given the fact that the PARCC exam is given in many more states, it is likely to suspect this Twitter snooping is not just happening in New Jersey. With that reality in mind, it will be interesting to see if other states conduct similar investigations.