For the second year in a row, students at more than 200 schools across California posted images of state standardized tests online.
Students at 10 middle and high schools in San Diego County posted photos of California standardized test booklets and answer sheets online during this year’s testing period. The schools were in the Borrego Springs Unified, Escondido Union High, San Diego Unified, San Dieguito Union High, Sweetwater Union High and Valley Center School Districts.
Deborah Sigman, a deputy superintendent with the California Department of Education, said this year the department was monitoring social media closely to catch test photos as soon as they went up.
“I’d prefer no security breaches," Sigman said. "We do have them. So I think that we are managing this, I think that as we move forward that people attune to kind of the seriousness of this.”
Last year was the first time the state saw somewhat widespread posting of images of standardized tests on social media sites. Students at 216 schools posted photos, and postings from 12 of the schools included legible test items. Because the postings were unexpected the investigations and follow-up by districts and the state department of education delayed the released of test results.
Prior to last year Sigman said there were only a few isolated incidents of students posting test material photos online and those photos were mostly of the state's high school exit exams.
This year’s test proctor scripts emphasized that student phones and cameras had to be put away during testing, Sigman said. But whether students can have phones in classrooms is up to districts and schools.
None of the 242 schools where photos of test materials were posted from this year will be able to apply for academic awards from the state. Sixteen schools where legible test questions were posted could have test scores invalidated. None of the photos posted by San Diego County students included legible test items.
