Well, I suppose this is good news for the College Board - pushes the SAT off the front pages - but it's terrible news for quite a lot of other people:
Almost from his first day as principal at Charles Brimm Medical Arts High in Camden, Joseph Carruth found himself sounding an alarm over grade fixing and test-score rigging - allegations that have embroiled the district in scandal. He and another administrator at the school discovered an alleged grade-fixing scheme within weeks of Carruth's arrival in July 2004, according to court documents. Twelve seniors at the school for high performers had apparently graduated with failing grades.Six months later, Carruth has told state education and local prosecutors, an assistant superintendent pressured him to alter the 2005 state High School Proficiency Assessment after students finished it, giving him step-by-step instructions on how he was to cheat. Carruth has said he refused to take part, according to sources familiar with the allegations. He even strapped on a wire for criminal investigators trying to implicate that district official.
It's uglier, and it's not going to get better soon:
The New Jersey Department of Education is investigating irregularities in standardized testing. One investigation involves allegations by the principal of Charles Brimm Medical Arts High, Joseph Carruth, that he was pressured to rig math scores on the state High School Proficiency Assessment last year. Carruth refused to join in the alleged scheme.Posted by kswygert at March 22, 2006 05:35 PMThe other involves dramatic improvement in the test results of at least two Camden elementary schools. The state began that investigation after The Inquirer asked the state to verify results. One city school had the highest fourth-grade math score in the state. That investigation has expanded to a dozen schools outside Camden.