Local News in Brief : Teachers, District Agree on Test Plans

The Los Angeles Unified School District and United Teachers-Los Angeles have given final approval to procedures that will enhance security during standardized testing.

The agreement was drawn up specifically to protect teachers from accusations that they could tamper with students’ answers on the California Assessment Program exam, a state-required achievement test.

When possible, administrators will give the tests, according to the new guidelines. When teachers administer the exam, a second teacher must be present and an administrator must collect the answer books and seal them in a special bag.

Supt. Leonard Britton said he regretted that remarks made by district officials in September, after disclosure of possible tampering on the CAP test three years ago, left the impression that teachers were responsible for changing answers to raise scores.

Teachers had refused to handle the exam because they felt they had been unjustly accused of altering test answers. The new procedures will enable the district to give the tests to high school seniors by the state’s Dec. 16 deadline. State education officials had threatened to withhold funds from the district if it did not give the test on time.