In a news release, Atlanta Public Schools Thursday announced the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement has recognized the district for significantly improving auditing and security procedures related to administering the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). In an e-bulletin posted on the office’s website, the district is acknowledged for implementing measures to increase the security of assessment data and testing materials.

In July 2011, the office released a report that outlined its investigation into the 2009 administration of the district’s CRCT exams. The report indicated that widespread cheating occurred in Atlanta schools. Since the release of the report, under the leadership of new Atlanta Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr., the school system has established and enforced a number of testing security improvements, including:

o Securing testing materials before, during, and after a test is administered to students.

o Monitoring the inventory of testing materials via video surveillance.

o Creating a more stringent process for the distribution of materials, testing administration, and collection and shipment of completed tests.

o Developing a trigger report that identifies schools with mean scale score gains that are more than three standard deviations from the state mean scale score change.

o Crafting a CRCT test administration audit plan.