Fifth and sixth graders across the state will be retaking the MEAP ELA writing section on Wednesday, Nov. 7 after a security breach occurred and the threatened the fairness of the test.
The breach stems from an article in a Jackson newpspaper, that featured the current year’s writing prompts. The article was published and placed on the internet before all students around the state had the opportunity to take the test.
According to Lake Orion Schools Superintendent Christine Lehman, this state-wide retake will feature new writing prompts.
‘We’re encouraging our students to do as well the second time around,? Lehman said.
The Michigan Department of Education made the decision to issue a statewide retake after a concern was voiced from the U.S. Department of Education that if all fifth and sixth graders were not retested with the replacement writing prompt, it would threaten the validity of the scores, as well as the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status schools are given after the test.
‘We know that this is an unfortunate consequence of a newspaper’s revealing in a news article what those writing prompts were,? said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. ‘However, we have to be certain that we do everything necessary to be fair to all students; protect the integrity of the MEAP tests; and not put schools at risk of not making AYP.?
‘We appreciate the understanding of school districts, teachers, parents, and above all, the fifth and sixth grade students affected by this situation,? he added.