PENNSYLVANIA State-test evaluators watch for red flags on pupils' exams

The state tests are monitored for pupil safety concerns.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- When evaluators pore over pupil responses to Pennsylvania's state assessment tests, checking for incorrect answers or possible cheating isn't their only mission.
They're also on the lookout for potential signs of personal trouble written on the exam -- perhaps thoughts of suicide or a rant against a hated teacher.
Since the inception of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests in the early 1990s, the company that scores the tests has routinely scoured the results for potential red flags about a pupil's well-being, and the practice was written into a formal policy within the last year, said Brian Christopher, education department spokesman.
About policy
The policy calls for Pennsylvania's test contractor, Data Recognition Corp., to notify local school superintendents if the test-scoring supervisor believes the response warrants immediate attention. It is up to the district to decide how to handle the so-called "PSSA alert," he said.
"It's more of a step for the protection of the student. They're looking at every way they can to pre-empt any kind of situation," Christopher said.
It's unclear exactly how many other states have policies that call for such monitoring of pupil responses, but officials with other testing firms say it's a long-standing practice for them to alert education agencies to potential cries for help, expressed primarily in written essays.
"We've found that some students, even though they're given a topic to write about their favorite pet or whatever, will choose to write about whatever is on their mind, maybe something that has been traumatic," said Henry Scherich, president of Measurement Inc., a testing company based in Durham, N.C. "The people who read these essays are humans, and they're concerned about students who write these kinds of things."
Identification removed
Before the scorers are allowed to review the essays, the pupil's name and other identifying information is removed, and the test is assigned a number instead -- a standard practice among testing companies -- Scherich said.
If a particular state education department requires in its contract that it be informed about any flagged tests, a supervisor will forward a copy of the test to the agency, which then passes it along to the school, he said. Measurement Inc. has scored essay tests for Ohio, Alabama, Illinois, and New Jersey.
Pennsylvania's education department does not keep statistics on how many tests are flagged for pupil safety reasons. Officials at Data Recognition's headquarters in Maple Grove, Minn., did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
Critics of standardized testing say that, although they are unaware of any current controversies over the practice, they question whether it is a reliable method of identifying pupils who might need help.
"We doubt that the test readers are really qualified to make that judgment," said Monty Neill, president of FairTest, a Cambridge, Mass.-group that advocates less reliance on testing.