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January 25, 2017, 12:00 p.m. ET

Avoiding A School District Test Cheating Scandal:

 A Tale of Two Cities

Caveon Webinar Series

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Today’s Presenters

Lou WoodruffTest Security Director

John FremerPresident, Caveon Consulting

Services

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Part 1 – Tale of Two City School Districts

• Each school district was facing a test security breach perpetrated by educators in the district.

• One district became a national disgrace.• The other district became a national

model.• What did each district do to result in such

different outcomes?

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The Atlanta School District

District administrators took a defensive approach:Deflect – Disclaim – Deny

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The Atlanta School District• "Circled the wagons" (It’s us against

them).• Rejected the legitimacy of the inside

whistle blowers.• Rejected the findings of "outsiders"

including the press.• Defied legitimate authorities such as the

Governor of the State. • Fought to maintain secrecy until defeated

and disgraced.www.caveon.com5

The Baltimore School District

District administrators took an open approach:

Accept – Take Action – Communicate www.caveon.com6

The Baltimore School District

• Acknowledged right away the possibility of a problem.

• Collected evidence, protecting the rights of all involved.

• Acted decisively and openly. • Communicated the process and the

outcomes. • Won national recognition and praise for the

district.www.caveon.com7

The Atlanta–Baltimore Take–Away

1. Be prepared: have a plan for responding to a breach.

2. Attitude is important: become part of the “good guy” initiative.

3. Communicate effectively: direct the focus of public discourse.

4. Take clear and forceful actions: share process and outcomes.

5. Learn from the experiences of others.

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Part 2 – Tale of Two Smaller School

DistrictsEach school district faced organized student cheating: • One District uncovered the threat and

implemented steps to mitigate the damage. • The other district remained unaware of the

threat until it was revealed by the local press.• What did each of these districts do to result in

such different outcomes?

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The “Heads–Up” School District

Monitor – Confirm – Respond

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The “Heads–Up” School District• Accepted that student cheating is a

possibility.• Used data forensics to identify organized

cheating.• Applied formal web-monitoring to identify

stolen content.• Announced that the scores in question could

not be verified.• No accusation of cheating – opportunity

given to retest.• No public discourse or negative press

coverage. www.caveon.com11

The “Heads–Down” School District

We’re OK! You’re OK!

Everything’s OK!www.caveon.com12

The “Heads–Down” School District

• Believed that student cheating does not happen here.

• No data forensics or web monitoring in place.

• Other students reported the cheating to their parents.

• The press investigated and ran a story surprising the district.

• Negative public discourse over the management of the district.

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Test Security Take-Away for All School Districts

1. Your test content will be compromised.2. Some students will cheat.3. Expect you will be dealing with security

incidents.4. Maintain adequate protection and

detection measures.5. Be prepared with a detailed incident

response plan.

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Test Security Risks Faced by School Districts

• Copying during testing• Photographing test questions/answers• Prior exposure to test questions• Assistance by teachers/proctors before or

during testing• Hacking test content or results• Impersonation – “place switching”

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12 Steps School Districts Can Take to Prepare for Spring Testing

1. Minimize test exposure within required testing windows.

2. Minimize test exposure during special schedule testing.

3. Review security arrangements at each test site (school).

4. Review policies for school and district post test reporting.

5. Update policies and procedures documents as needed.

6. Provide re-training for staff administering examinations.

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7. Have all testing staff re-sign non-disclosure agreements.

8. Initiate a legal review of all policies and procedures.

9. Review chain of custody policies for securing tests

10.Review security incident communication protocols.

11.Review procedures for escalating irregularities. 12.Review procedures for investigating security

incidents. www.caveon.com17

12 Steps School Districts Can Take to Prepare for Spring Testing

Q&A

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Thank you!

Next District Webinar: Site Monitoring, March 1, 2017

John FremerPresident, Caveon Consulting Services

John.fremer@caveon.com

Lou Woodruff Test Security Director

Lou.woodruff@caveon.com

www.caveon.com19