Test-score inquiry angers some schools Pride turns to indignation when state checks into suddenly improved passing rates Friday, December 22, 2006 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff When the test scores for Plainfield's Cedarbrook School came back in the summer, officials were pleased to see the gains over the previous year. Now comes the anger over questions of whether the results were too good. The state sent letters this month to Cedarbrook and 39 other schools about what it called "highly unusual" increases or decreases in the latest results. State officials said they were looking for success stories to share, but also checking for potential problems in the test's administration. A year ago, the state failed to notice a big jump in scores at several Camden schools, and the situation escalated into a cheating scandal that remains under investigation. This time, Plainfield and some other districts say the state failed to dig into the data before sending the letters. For instance, the state's inquiry of Cedarbrook was triggered by the number of fourth-graders who passed in math. The fourth-grade rate jumped 40 points, from 31 percent in 2004-05 to 71 percent last year. Local officials point out that when compared with the scores of third-graders the year before -- essentially the same students -- the increase was less than 10 points. "When you look at the third going into fourth, it wasn't that big a jump," said Paula Howard, Plainfield's superintendent. "They shouldn't be comparing apples and oranges." Howard said she is miffed: "We should be celebrating these scores, not having to defend them." The state has given the districts 45 days to respond. And state officials stress this is not about just weeding out any problems. Jay Doolan, the acting assistant education commissioner who oversees assessment, said the letters did not accuse the schools of cheating. "We were very, very careful in our language," he said. "Some of the superintendents we have talked to were quite clear that there were critical improvements in their schools that can explain the results." That's the argument being made out of Paterson, which received letters about three of its schools, including one that saw a 25-point drop in its scores. Superintendent Michael Glascoe said all the scores are analyzed internally as a matter of course, but that the reasons for large changes are likely to vary by school. For instance, at School 19, which saw some of the district's biggest increases in passing rates, Glascoe credited the school's leadership under Principal Michael Osofsky. Eighty-one percent of the fourth-graders at School 19 passed in math, compared with 52 percent the year before. The jump was even bigger when compared with the previous year's results for third-graders. "It's a very strong principal who has been pushing very hard," Glascoe said. "Now if we could just bottle what he's been doing." The superintendent said he wasn't offended by the state's request. "When you are poor urban districts and good things pop up, there is a tendency to think we must have done something wrong," he said. "But I won't look at it that way. This is time for us to shine." SCATTERSHOT INQUIRY The state's rationale for singling out one school and not another was unclear. Doolan said the Department of Education used a formula that factored in enrollment and focused largely on schools that saw changes of at least 25 points within the same grade and test. But Jersey City officials said they received no inquiry about School 39, which had a nearly 60-point jump in its fourth-grade math score. Newark had a half-dozen schools with passing-rate increases exceeding 25 points, but just one was cited by the state in its inquiry, as were five schools that saw big drops in their scores. Local officials credited a new math curriculum for many of the increases, and suggested staffing troubles may have led to some of the drops. "That's what we need to look at," said Gayle Griffin, an assistant superintendent. "In the context of never being questioned before on this (by the state), one might have been taken aback. But like all of us, they just want to know why." John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at jmooney@star ledger.com, or 973-392-1548. © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.