Regents Examinations, standardized tests used in middle and high schools.
Often, this issue takes the form of answer sheets for one test somehow
being made available prior to the test, usually because of the failure of a
school to follow the prescribed security protocols. Even when the problem
occurs in only one school in the entire state, the fallout affects all.
Ms. Rivera, principal of a large suburban high school in New York
State, knew that there would be inspection teams making the rounds dur-
ing a June testing period because of a serious incident that had occurred
the previous semester. Working with the assistant principal of organiza-
tion, she made sure that all protocols were being followed.
On the first exam day in June, Ms. Rivera arrived at the school at her
usual early hour and verified with the assistant principal of organization
that all procedures were in place. The exams and answer sheets were
locked in the basement vault and would not be brought up until one hour
prior to the start of the test. Ms. Rivera then picked up a copy of the testing
room assignments and decided to make sure the rooms themselves were
in order. She was appalled by what she found.
The school’s Teacher Handbook provided proctors with their responsi-
bilities during testing. One was setting up rooms by removing any posters
or other materials relevant to the exam and arranging the room appropri-
ately. However, proctors usually did not arrive at the testing rooms until
about fifteen minutes before the exam began because, according to the test
protocols, they could not be given the exams until just before they were
scheduled to begin. This did not allow proctors the time to put the rooms
in order.
Ms. Rivera found that there were few posters, as most teachers removed
them before the summer vacation, but the desks were haphazardly ar-
ranged, some even set up for small-group learning from the last class of
the previous day.
There were few other people in the building at 7:30 a.m. and those
who were there were responsible for getting the exams ready for distri-
bution. So, the principal went up to the top floor and, room by room,
began arranging the desks in the appropriate manner for an exam: long
rows with wide spaces between to minimize the possibility of roving
eyes and facilitate movement around the room by the proctor. About
halfway through this task, a teacher saw her working and asked what she
was doing. After receiving a quick explanation, he joined Ms. Rivera,
Always Be a Role Model 7