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District investigating tests scores at a Wichita elementary school

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April 13, 2012|By Michael Schwanke and Melissa Scheffler | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News
Wichita Public Schools

(WICHITA, Kan.) — Test scores at one Wichita school could be too good to be true.  The district is investigating Enterprise Elementary, while the principal is on personal leave.

Eyewitness News visited Principal Pam Stead's school just two years ago.  She was celebrating a victory for Enterprise Elementary.  Stead said the school had finally met educational standards after re-vamping its teaching style.

“Through all those things we figured out what was wrong and starting correcting it,” Stead said in 2010.

But now the school's recent success is in question and Stead is on paid leave, for what the district calls, "personal business."

The district started an investigation a couple of weeks ago.  It's looking into a "concern" regarding scoring on state assessments, currently underway, at Enterprise.  The district says it caught a "red flag" during its annual "checks and balances.”

The district won't say if the principal's personal leave is connected to the investigation.  We tried reaching Stead, but she did not return our phone calls.

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Factfinder12 confirmed the school's testing coordinator is on leave as well.  School board members tell us they are aware of the investigation.  And, they expect to get more information Friday.  The assistant principal at Caldwell Elementary is filling the role of acting principal at Enterprise.

The district recently addressed some cheating concerns after an Atlanta Journal Constitution investigation.  The newspaper looked at scores across the nation--and flagged several Kansas schools, including Wichita, for what it called "suspect scores."  The district said there was no reason to think there is cheating going on in schools.  It also says this investigation at Enterprise has nothing to do with the article in the Atlanta newpaper.

District investigating tests scores at a Wichita elementary school
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