State pulls school numbers to check accuracy
The state has pulled scores indicating academic performance of schools statewide because of what an agency spokeswoman called a “data accuracy issue.”
Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera told state school officials in an email Wednesday afternoon scores in the public database that shows schools’ scores were being pulled “for further review.”
Rivera’s email also invited district superintendents, charter school officers and directors of intermediate units and career and technology centers to meet with him and Deputy Secretary Matthew Stem face to face, when the two men “will provide additional background at this brief meeting.”
The Department of Education released the 2015-16 School Performance Profiles last week.
Spokeswoman Nicole Reigelman said the agency learned late Tuesday of a “data inaccuracy in the PVAAS scores,” a measure of students’ growth from year to year that counts for 40 percent of the total assessment score.
“While it appears that a small number of schools will see a modest change on their overall SPP scores, ensuring the accuracy of the data PDE shares with the public is paramount for the agency, and the Department is working with SAS (the North Carolina-based data analytics company that has a state contract to provide the scores in question) to take the steps necessary to correct the data and calculate new SPP scores, where required,” Reigelman said in an emailed statement.
She said because of the nature of the problem, only schools that administer Keystone Exams – end-of-course tests in algebra I, literature and biology – are affected, mainly middle and high schools.
She declined to provide additional details about which schools were affected or the cause of the problem.