Dive Summary:
- The Texas Education Agency plans to ask the 2013 Legislature for $1 million to go after state testing irregularities.
- Education Commissioner Michael Williams would use the funding to create a special investigations unit to investigate security problems related to the Texas STAAR tests.
- Within the last five years, more than 40 teachers and administrators have been disciplined because of issues involving testing rule violations.
From the article:
As the state ratchets up its new student testing program over the next few years, the Texas Education Agency wants to beef up security to prevent cheating. The agency will ask the Legislature for $1 million to help investigate irregularities in test results and conduct random audits.
In a request to lawmakers, Education Commissioner Michael Williams asked for the funding to “create a special investigations unit that would be in charge of reviewing reports that suggest serious testing irregularities” or other security violations involving the new STAAR test. ...
