By Leslie Brody
A tweet by a New Jersey high-school student has ignited a debate
over privacy and proper ways to insure test security as new online
tests are under way in 11 states and the District of Columbia.
Some parents and anti-testing activists have accused Pearson PLC
of spying after the textbook and testing company alerted the New
Jersey Department of Education that a student had tweeted a
question from the state's 10th grade English language test last
week.
The American Federation of Teachers union launched a petition
Tuesday asking Pearson to stop monitoring students on social
media.
The controversy comes amid a nationwide debate on testing and
the Common Core educational standards, with some parents and
teachers arguing that too much time is spent on testing and
test-preparation at the expense of classroom learning.
Officials at the New Jersey education department and Pearson are
trying to alleviate parents' concerns, noting that its
test-security service checks only public channels--such as
Instagram, Twitter and electronic bulletin boards--to see whether
anyone is leaking test questions, and then have them deleted.
Pearson officials said Tuesday that tracking public social media
has been a practice for years among test vendors as students spent
more time online. ETS, which administers the SAT and Advanced
Placement tests for the College Board, also checks public sites
this way. "It's a common security tool we all use," said Ray
Nicosia, executive director of ETS's office of testing
integrity.
Pearson said that by using digital monitoring it found 72
security breaches in six states since the debut last month of tests
from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and
Careers, or PARCC. Pearson, which administers the test for states,
says a test-security contractor hunts for potential breaches
through a search tool that flags key words used in the test
questions.
Don Kilburn, president of Pearson North America, said students
and teachers deserve a chance to show what they accomplished in
class without some test-takers resorting to cheating. "We're
clearly not spying on students," he said.
The company alerts state education agencies about incidents, and
local schools have authority to determine if discipline is
warranted.
The furor erupted after a New Jersey blogger posted a leaked
email last weekend sent by Elizabeth Jewett, superintendent of
Watchung Hills Regional High School District, to fellow school
leaders noting that a state official alerted her to a student's
tweet of a test question. Ms. Jewett said in the email she found it
"a bit disturbing" that Pearson was monitoring social media.
The concern over test breaches comes during the first
administration of the PARCC tests, which aim to reflect Common Core
standards. Supporters say the tests will give more nuanced
information on students, but critics say they are too time
consuming and overly difficult.
Some parents have opted out, though New Jersey officials have
said participation overall is very strong. Pearson said Tuesday
that 4.9 million tests have been taken in the consortium's member
states so far. Sections of the tests, for children in grades three
through 11, are being given on different days in different
districts, adding to potential for leaked test questions.
Frederick Hess, director of education policy at the American
Enterprise Institute, said the surveillance controversy spread
nationwide because of the political sensitivity of Common Core and
many educators' opposition to being judged partly by test scores.
"But this stuff is only going to have legs if it speaks to the
practical concerns of parents" worried about what they perceive as
companies monitoring children on social media, Mr. Hess added.
Elisabeth Ginsburg, president of the school board in Glen Ridge,
N.J., said if her daughter ever posted a test question online she
would discipline her, but that many children still don't realize
how far and fast posts can travel electronically.
"We've handed this tool with the extreme power of mass
communication to people as young as 10," she said. "It's a
cautionary tale."
Write to Leslie Brody at leslie.brody@wsj.com
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