Over 40 staff members employed by the Jackson Public School District (JPS) have been terminated, suspended, or issued letters of reprimand following an investigation into testing irregularities found at seven schools.
The investigation, which was conducted by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) in mid-August, was sparked after irregularities in statewide testing were identified by Cavan, Inc. After submitting their findings back to the MDE, the internal investigation showed that the irregularities occurred in seven schools on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP).
MAAP assesses students in grades 3 through 8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, grades 5 and 8 in Science, Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and U.S. History.
JPS has since released that four of the seven schools experienced isolated incidents of testing irregularities in a specific grade level, classroom, and/or subject area:
- Marshall Elementary School
- Dawson Elementary School
- Wilkins Elementary School
- Lanier High School
The other three schools experienced testing irregularities that were more pronounced and in multiple grade levels and subject areas:
- Peeples Middle School
- Lester Elementary School
- McLeod Elementary School
JPS officials have issued the following statement as the investigation is ongoing:
“We are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability in our school district. To help ensure testing security in the future, additional test administration measures will be employed, along with increased training and monitoring in the impacted schools. Additional information related to class changes and/or school operations will be shared directly with the affected school communities.”
