Dive Brief:
- The Maine Department of Education will launch an investigation into possible test cheating at Farrington Elementary School in Augusta.
- The investigation follows a recent decision to throw out some of the school's standardized math test scores after it was revealed that reference materials were allegedly left on classroom walls as students took the Maine Educational Assessment.
- In May, the state's education department invalidated the test scores of 106 Farrington students on 212 exams because of "unfair testing environment advantages.”
Dive Insight:
If there are two types of cheating, this would likely fall under the passive category. While the educators did not erase and change answers or meet with students in the middle of the test to guide their answers, posters left hanging in classrooms could have still assisted the third-to-sixth grade students.
According to local news reports, Principal Lori Smail has since resigned because of the incident. She had told teachers that is was okay to leave up posters around their classrooms when testing, and when she found out this wasn't actually the case, she reported the wrongdoing to the state board of education herself.