THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605040355
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
The school administration this week completed its investigation of an alleged testing breach at I.C. Norcom High.
But Superintendent Richard Trumble said he could not yet discuss the findings or any possible sanctions.
The administration looked into allegations that several Norcom teachers shared questions from a standardized test with 11th-graders before they were scheduled to take the same test in March.
School Board Attorney George Willson said he had to further scrutinize the information to see what could be publicly disclosed without breaking confidentiality laws.
Trumble also said he was waiting for Willson to sign off on proposed ``actions to be taken.''
Trumble previously said teachers had been directed by someone ``in a position of authority'' to review the test questions with juniors.
He would only say that the person who gave the order was not an ``administrator.''
It's unclear whether the person who gave the order, the teachers who followed it or the person who originally brought the material to school knew the questions would appear on the test.
But at least one of the teachers thought something was wrong and reported concerns to a Norcom administrator, who informed the central office.
In a memo to the state Education Department, the administration said four teachers involved indicated they did not know they had been given questions from the test.
The memo also suggests that the teacher who originally brought the material to school thought it was a ``practice test.''
On Friday, a state department representative said she had yet to receive Portsmouth's report on the findings.
After spring break, nearly 280 Norcom juniors took from an entirely different form two sections of the statewide exam - known as the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency.
The two sections - reading comprehension and written expression - are the portions believed to have been compromised, the administration previously reported.
The incident marked the third time in recent years that the administration investigated what's known as a standardized ``testing irregularity.''
State records show Portsmouth also reported an irregularity in 1992, when there were concerns about fourth-graders who could have been ``exposed'' to some vocabulary words on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills; and in 1994, when concerns were raised about the administration of the social studies section of the ITBS at James Hurst Elementary.
Many are still wondering what might have gone wrong at Norcom.
``I don't want to pass judgment when I don't know everything that happened,'' said Norcom parent Elizabeth Lesoine.
``Right now, I'm sitting on the fence, waiting to see what's going to be done.'' MEMO: THE INQUIRY
The Portsmouth school administration looked into allegations that
several Norcom teachers shared questions from a standardized test with
11th-graders before they were scheduled to take the same test in March.
KEYWORDS: STANDARDIZED TEST by CNB