CEC Policy Insider

GAO Releases Report on Test Security: 40 States Report Allegations of Educators Cheating on State Assessments

The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently conducted a nationwide study to catalog and assess the test security procedures and allegations of cheating on state administered assessments. The study was meant to determine where states were using leading practices in test security to prevent irregularities, what oversight states used in ensuring school officials are following test security procedures, how often that oversight lead to the identification of cheating, and finally, on what resources are school officials relying for assistance and what further assistance would be useful to them.

According to the study, all 50 states reported that they use at least half or more of the leading practices for test security provided by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the Association of Test Publishers (ATP).  However, states reported variations in which aspects of the leading practices they used – according to the summary of the report, “22 states reported having all of the leading practices for security training, but four states reported having none of the practices in this category.”  Additionally the report states that oversight procedures lead to 40 states reporting allegations of cheating, 33 states confirming at least one instance of cheating and 32 states reporting canceled, invalidated, or nullified test scores as a result of cheating.

Many school officials reported feeling vulnerable to cheating at some point during testing, but study concludes that implementation of strong policies and procedures for testing security and oversight could go a long way towards preventing testing irregularities. Since state assessments are used to make key decisions regarding low performing schools, testing integrity is vital to ensuring that students and schools most in need of resources are identified. Since the GAO released its report, the U.S. Department of Education released a report detailing best practices in test security.

Read the GAO report on Test Security.

Read the U.S. Department of Education’s report on best practices for test security.

The National Center for Education Statistics Releases Report: “The Condition of Education”

As mandated by Congress, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, a division of the Institute for Education Sciences, has compiled and released the 2013 edition of “The Condition of Education,” which reports on statistics collected during the 2010-2011 school year.  This report presents information based on 42 indicators of the condition of education, such as attainment, economic outcomes, demographics, preprimary education, enrollment, school characteristics and climate, and finance.

Amongst its indicators, the report includes enrollment data for students served under IDEA programs, stating that for the 2010-2011 school year the number of children and youth with disabilities receiving services under IDEA was 6.4 million, or 13% of total public school enrollment. Other key findings include:

• In 2011, approximately 21 percent of school-age children in the United States were in families living in poverty. The percentage of school-age children living in poverty ranged across the United States from 9 percent in North Dakota to 30 percent in the District of Columbia.
• From school years 2010-11 through 2021-22, public elementary and secondary school enrollment is projected to increase by 7 percent from 49.5 to 53.1 million students, but with changes across states ranging from an increase of 22 percent in Alaska to a decrease of 15 percent in the District of Columbia.
• The gap in the dropout rate between high-income and low-income families narrowed between 1970 and 2011, particularly during the past two decades, when the gap narrowed from 21 percentage points in 1990 to 11 percentage points in 2011.
  
  

Read the full report.  

Apply Now: U.S. Department of Education Offers New Award for Data Collection and Reporting

The U.S. Department of Education is now accepting applications for a new award for a National Technical Assistance Center to Improve State Capacity to Accurately Collect and Report IDEA Data. The purpose of this grant is to fund a technical assistance center which will support improved capacity of states to fulfill data requirements. The center will help the state improve data collection to meet the requirements of IDEA by improving data collection infrastructure between Local Education Agencies, State Education Agencies, schools, and early intervention services, and by addressing personnel training. To meet the requirements of the grant, the center must conduct assist in developing technology and tools to help education agencies meet data requirements, and must provide technical assistance and dissemination.

Eligible applicants include SEAs; LEAs, including public charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law; IDEA Part C State lead agencies; IHEs; other public agencies; private nonprofit organizations; outlying areas; freely associated States; Indian tribes or tribal organizations; and for-profit organizations. For more information on the requirements of this award, or how to apply, please see the Federal Register Notice.

What will a $2 billion dollar cut to IDEA and Title I look like to children?

Unfortunately, our children might be able to answer this question very soon. Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted to approve a top line number for education funding for Fiscal Year 2014 that – if passed – will likely cut the following programs in the following approximate amounts:

	FY 12	FY 13	Potential FY 14	Potential FY 14 Cut
IDEA Part B State grants	11,577,855	10,974,866	8,933,541	-2,041,325
IDEA Preschool grants Section 619	372,646	353,238	287,536	-65,702
IDEA Part C Grants for infants and families	442,710	419,653	341,598	-78,055
English Language Acquisition	732,144	693,848	564,792	-129,056
Teacher quality State grants	2,466,567	2,337,567	1,902,780	-434,787
Title I Grants to LEAs	14,516,457	13,760,219	11,200,818	-2,559,401
Impact Aid total	1,291,186	1,223,649	996,050	-227,599

CEC opposes these cuts, which are happening in large part due to sequestration. Want to learn more about sequestration? Read this.

Yesterday, we joined with several other members of the IDEA Full Funding Coalition to express our deep concern about these proposed cuts and let the House know they must oppose this! Read our letter here.  What’s IDEA Full Funding? Read this.

Today, Representative John Kline, Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee issued the following letter, stating his commitment to IDEA and asking appropriators to take note of Congress’s failure to live up to its promise to fund 40% of the amount. Although CEC appreciate’s Chairman Kline’s support for IDEA, it is important to note as the Full Funding Coalition did in its letter that increasing funding for just IDEA, while deeply cutting so many other areas, will not help many children with disabilities who depend on federal resources and assistance in many areas.

This situation can be stopped. We can change this – join us! Tell your member of Congress to (1) vote against any bill that contains these cuts, (2) speak out against them and (3) tell their colleagues why investing in education is important. Go to our Legislative Action Center and send a letter today.

Our nation’s children need you.

New DSM-5 officially released!

For the first time in many years, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has been revised. This is the fifth revision of this important manual, which is the diagnostic reference manual used primarily by clinicians in the U.S. to diagnose mental disorders. The drafters had been proposing several changes over the last few years as a part of this current revision process. The APA has published three separate drafts of the manual on their website, and received over 13,000 comments from 2010 – 2012, as well as thousands of emails and letters. 

After careful review of the comments, the new edition contains several key changes. First, Learning Disorder has been changed to Specific Learning Disorder and the previous types of Learning Disorder (Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Disorder of Written Expression) are no longer included. Instead, the type of Learning Disorder will instead be specified as noted in the diagnosis.

Importantly, the definition of learning disorders also states, “…the diagnostic criteria do not depend upon comparisons with overall IQ and are consistent with the changes in the USA’s reauthorized IDEA regulations (2004) which state that “the criteria adopted by each State must not require the use of a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability…” This change is in line with federal law and the movements in the field. Read CEC's comments on the change here.

Next, the DSM-5 also updated language by changing the term mental retardation to intellectual disability. This change has also occurred throughout federal law and is congruent with the field. Read Read CEC's comments on the change here.

Finally, there is now just a single definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder, which comprises 4 previous separate disorders.  As the American Psychological Association explains:

ASD now encompasses the previous DSM-IV autistic disorder (autism), Asperger’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.

ASD is characterized by 1) deficits in social communication and social interaction and 2) restricted repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities (RRBs). Because both components are required for diagnosis of ASD, social communication disorder is diagnosed if no RRBs are present.

This change ignited the most controversy over the years and many in the field will continue to closely monitor its impact on the change in diagnosis rate and services. CEC will work closely with its Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities to determine impact and monitor any changes. To read more about the changes to the DSM and the process of change click here.