The Virginian-Pilot 
                            THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996                 TAG: 9605160390
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                     LENGTH: Short :   49 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills taken by fourth-grade students at Pembroke Meadows Elementary School were lost in the mail along with those for eight other Virginia Beach schools. A story in Thursday's paper incorrectly listed Pembroke Elementary School. Correction published in The Virginian-Pilot, Friday, May 17, 1996, page A2. ***************************************************************** BEACH STUDENTS TO RETAKE SHORTENED TEST

Fourth-grade students at eight elementary schools, and eighth-grade students at one middle school will take a second, abridged version of a state-mandated standardized test because the box containing their original tests was lost in the mail.

Some of the schools involved have been top scorers on standardized tests.

Students affected are: eighth-graders at Kemps Landing Magnet School, and fourth-graders at Arrowhead, Indian Lakes, Kempsville Meadows, Pembroke, Providence, Salem, Trantwood and White Oaks elementary schools.

Some have already begun retaking the test.

K. Edwin Brown, an executive assistant to the superintendent, said 16 of the 17 boxes carrying this year's Iowa Tests of Basic Skills arrived safely at the center where they are scored.

The division was notified in April, however, that one box did not arrive. And efforts to trace it through the postal service have been unsuccessful.

State Department of Education officials gave the division several options, including not giving the test again, Brown said. But after discussing the matter with the nine principals, Brown said, the decision was made last week to give an accepted, but abridged, version of the test.

The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills are given to students in grades four, eight and 11 to measure performance in different subjects. The tests are usually given during a three-day period for five to six hours. The abridged version takes about 1 1/2 hours.

Giving the tests a second time could cost up to $4,800. But Brown said the tab will probably be less.

KEYWORDS: EDUCATION STANDARDIZED TESTING by CNB