Test Irregularities End Blue Ribbon Bid for Roosevelt Elementary

Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Jon Gundry said today he is “disappointed” that the California Department of Education (CDE) cannot include Roosevelt Elementary School as a nominee for the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program “because of minor testing irregularities during the 2011 California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) administration.”

Gundry said that PUSD investigated the irregularities and “promptly reported them to the CDE. At no time were students given answers to tests.”

PUSD said that CDE analysis showed that 1.6 percent of students tested were affected by the adult testing irregularity. Because this is less than five percent of students tested, there was no impact on the school’s API score of 888.

However, schools with a confirmed adult testing irregularity are ineligible for state and federal award programs for 2011-12.

“This should not diminish the students’ hard work and the school’s 57-point improvement on its Academic Performance Index (API),” Gundry said.”In response to this incident, I have directed school personnel to review testing protocols and procedures, receive adequate training, and appoint a new testing coordinator.”