Update: City Schools Included in 'Suspicious' Test Score Probe

Woonsocket schools are among nearly 200 school systems nationwide with "suspicious" scores on standardized tests, according to a study by the Atlanta Journal-Contitution.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia, a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, has called for an investigation into those school systems to determine whether they cheated on the exams.

"The indications of the report are troubling, to the point where these systems must follow up and see whether there is in fact impropriety," Isakson said.

The Journal-Constitution examined test scores from 69,000 school systems across the country, specifically examining the percentage of classes that were flagged for abnormalities over a four-year period. School systems will typically have 5 percent of classes flagged in any given year. The study deemed suspicious any school systems consistently registering 10 percent of classes flagged, or those with a spiked in flag percentage in a single year.

In 2008, 29.8 percent of Woonsocket classes were flagged for having a test-score shift outside the norm, the study found. The district registered flag rates of 3.86 percent, 7.69 percent and 0 percent in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Coventry, Providence and East Providence joined Woonsocket on the "suspicious" list, prompting Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist to defend the districts while noting the state will look further into the report.

"We take testing integrity seriously, and we have no reason to suspect any incident of testing irregularity in recent test administrations in Rhode Island," Gist said in a prepared statement Monday. "We will, however, thoroughly review the assessment data from these four districts and revisit our assessment and monitoring procedures if necessary. We have full confidence in the honesty and integrity of the educators and students in Rhode Island."