TAKS probe stalls teacher bonuses

I don't know whether to laugh, cheer or cry: KIPP's scores are so good that the bureaucrats don't believe them!  Low-income minority kids showing a dramatic improvement in test scores?!  Sadly, outside of KIPP and a few similar schools, this largely IS unheard of in this country...  (Gotta love the response by Mike Feinberg!)

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June 18, 2006, 9:32AM
TAKS probe stalls teacher bonuses
TEA withholds incentives for 14 schools statewide while investigating test irregularities

By ZEKE MINAYA
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3979587.html

Several area schools slated to receive state grants to reward teachers for improved test scores will not receive those funds until the Texas Education Agency investigates the results for possible cheating.

In all, 14 schools statewide were tapped by state education officials for the added scrutiny because they showed marked improvement in test scores — while also landing among the 609 Texas schools that exhibited signs of possible irregularities on their Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills results.

"I'm glad that TEA is working diligently to make sure the integrity of the testing stays intact," said Mike Feinberg, superintendent of the KIPP Academy, one of the schools in line for a grant that was singled out. "They are more than welcomed to take a second, third and fourth look at our test results."...