1. “The Primary Goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America.” The Ongoing Evolution of Test Security in Cleveland Presented at the Council of Great City Schools Curriculum and Research Directors Meeting Las Vegas, Nevada, July 2012 Russell Brown, Ph.D

2. Historical Context District/State had an antagonistic relationship around testing practice Lack of uniform practice – Distributed material handling – Too much autonomy – Poor data quality – SLOW turn-around Problems waiting to happen… “The Primary Goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America.”

3. What we have done… Test-Director collaborative with other large Districts – Fostered an improved relationship with the State Department – Provides a vehicle to change testing policy for the State – Sharing best practices Further developed the test-coordinator role – Mandatory training with standardized materials – Online repository of testing resources Centralized distribution and return of materials with an electronic inventory of all materials. Electronic data-base of all irregularities “The Primary Goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America.”

4. What we have done… Proactive building visits – Buildings with prior irregularities – Questionable patterns of data – Random Accommodations training – standardization Policy for electronic devices…. “The Primary Goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America.”

5. What we have done: Reactions to Undesirable Behaviors… “The Primary Goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America.” Investigation Team – Academic Superintendent, Security, Testing Staff (Legal) Mandatory reporting to the State with corrective action plan Pro-active invalidation of suspect tests Actively pursue additional consequences for staff where appropriate….

6. The Media…. Regular reporting of assessment results to the board and media Team approach: Senior Management, Strategic Communications, Assessment. One Voice! The State Department is part of the team. AJC…. – Comparative analysis – eliminating alternate explanations – Procedure and policy “The Primary Goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America.”

7. The Changing Landscape… House Bill 153 specifies that 50% of a teacher’s evaluation will be based on student academic growth… Principal evaluations equally anchored to student growth. Cleveland Plan legislation will anchor employment decisions to final ratings. “The Primary Goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America.”

8. The Changing Landscape… With increased pressure and employment consequences…. Anticipating steps to increase staff awareness of their personal responsibility for testing security Have explored additional data screening measures “The Primary Goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America.”