20 states, including Michigan, have erasure tests to see if teachers are cheating for the students
NORTHERN MICHIGAN -- More and more states are becoming proactive when it comes to cracking down on cheating.
According to a USA Today study, some 20 states check for unusual rates of eraser marks changed from wrong to right and Michigan is one of them.
But Michigan’s standardized test security goes well beyond just that check and it starts at the local level.
In Gaylord, Cheboygan and the majority of Northern Michigan school districts, the safety of standardized tests starts in a locked room with little access.
"You can tell if they were compromised because there is an individual seal on each test so you can tell if that test has been opened or not opened," explains Brian Pearson, the Director of Curriculum with Gaylord Public Schools.
Several safety features, including different security numbers printed on every test, make sure all tests are accounted from when they enter and leave the schools.
"They come back to hand check and make sure everything is returned before boxing up and resealing it and preparing it to be sent back," said Cheboygan Middle School Assistant Principal Mark Oberman.
But with mounting pressure on teachers…
“I believe unethical practices are something you have to be concerned about, especially when you look at the high pressures being put on by the state," says Pearson.
Michigan is taking a proactive stance to protect the integrity, like taking a closer look at eraser marks.
The Michigan Department of Education has a special system in place to make sure these tests aren't being altered. If there is a significant jump or drop in proficiency rates, the school will be on a watch list and the MDE will randomly check to see if cheating is taking place.
And if it is, the spokesperson for the MDE says they will give the school the maximum penalty, they'll invalidate their scores.
As for the teachers who altered the test results, the district determines their fate.
“There would definitely be a thorough investigation, and if it ended up in a termination, that's the route we would pursue," said Mark Dombroski, the Superintendent of Cheboygan Schools.
Each individual investigation costs several hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.
