Spring-Ford Responds to Cheating Allegations

The Spring-Ford Area School District has issued an official response to allegations made of cheating district-wide in the 2009 PSSA standardized test. The allegations come from an audit done by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and cited "irregularities" in the test scores. It is one of 89 schools flagged by the state in its audit.

"First, it must be established that schools flagged in the state’s Data Forensic Report were singled out based on 'statistical evidence alone,'" the school's release stated. "The report states that flagged schools’ 'scores, response pattern, and number of erasures were aberrant, from a statistical probability perspective. This does not imply that the school or student engaged in inappropriate testing activity. The statistical evidence merely suggests that something aberrant or unusual occurred.'"

The section flagged in the 2009 PSSAs was the 11th grade reading and math section. The scores were "uncharacteristically lower" than the 2007-08 school year, which was at a 75-percent proficiency in reading and 76-percent in math. The 2009-2010 percentage dropped to 68 in reading and 65 in math, and the 2009-2010 score increased to 78-percent in reading and 76-percent in math.

"In the 2008-09 school year, the AYP [Average Yearly Progress] targets for student proficiency were 63 percent for reading and 56 percent for math," the release said. "As you can see, the district still exceeded state requirements during that year, even with the dip in scores. Since the scores were not reflective of Spring-Ford’s overall historical performance on the PSSA, they were flagged as abnormalities."

In response to the score decrease, the release said a "Getting Results Team" made up of administrators and teachers was formed to analyze the performance issues. That team still exists today.

"The School Board will be working hard along with Superintendent Dr. David Goodin to make sure that high school PSSA test scores continue to improve," said school board president Joseph Ciresi. "We are dedicated to moving this district forward, and part of that effort will involve setting goals for student performance on the 2011-12 PSSAs."

Goodin's former school district in Connelsville was also flagged.

The district must now prepare a response to send to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.