Parents and educators react to Wichita test score investigation

Newman University's director of the School of Education, Steve Dunn, says the government has turned public education into a numbers game that can turn schools into pressure cookers where test scores mean everything.

"You're not supposed to cheat, but you could lose your job if your kids aren't performing," Dunn says.  "The school could be shut down.  Your pay can be affected.  You're going to earn less.  The stress is huge."

Mum's the word downtown at USD 259's headquarters.  But school officials say there are a number of checks and balances in place designed to keep the system honest. 

Students take the tests on computers which automatically score them.  The district's research, evaluation and assessment consultant, Bob Winkler, says the only way test scores can be changed is if someone goes back and changes students' answers.  Winkler says the only people who can access the system are the school principal, the school's testing coordinator, and Winkler himself.

Fowler says she's going to give everyone at Enterprise the benefit of the doubt until she learns more.

The district says this case has nothing to do with a recent investigation by an Atlanta newspaper which found suspicious test scoring in 200 districts nationwide, including several in Kansas.