Vista Murrieta Among Schools With STAR Test Images Posted on Social Media, CDE Says

SACRAMENTO—Heightened monitoring and reporting of California’s Standardized Testing and Reporting assessments this year identified 242 schools where social media postings occurred during administration of the tests, only 16 of which included postings of test questions or answers.

Vista Murrieta High School in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District and Paloma Valley High School in the Perris Union High School District were among the 242 schools identified as those at which a student or students allegedly posted images on social media websites that did not include legible test questions or answers.

Lakeside High School in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District was among the 16 schools where images containing legible items were allegedly posted on social media.

None of the postings affected school test results. As in 2012, when similar numbers of social media postings occurred, the majority involved students posing with the covers of test booklets or with materials that were not legible.

The California Department of Education placed a cautionary flag on the publicly posted test results for all schools where a posting occurred. A complete list of flagged schools can be viewed on CDE's website.

The 242 schools identified this year compares with 216 schools in 2012. That year, 12 schools had postings that included legible test questions or answers.

In addition to the more rigorous monitoring, CDE also conducted random security audits, instructed examiners and STAR coordinators as to the proper protocol, and reinforced the responsibilities of local officials to maintain security of all test material.

Though the implications for accountability have not yet been determined, in general, if a security breach affects less than 5 percent of the number of students tested, the school is ineligible for academic awards. If the breach affects more than 5 percent of the number of students tested, the school’s API—the state’s measure of accountability—could be invalidated.

Final decisions regarding accountability reports for affected schools will be made within the next few weeks, when CDE releases its statewide accountability reports.

—News release from the California Department of Education

This post was first published on Aug. 9 and updated at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 12 to include a response to this news release from Murrieta Valley Unified School District Spokeswoman Karen Parris:

"We are aware that a Vista Murrieta student posted a picture of the STAR test booklet on Instagram. As the CDE release confirms, neither test questions or answers were part of the picture.  While the Department of Education has not yet rendered a decision on the consequences of the security breach, students need to understand that the actions of one student could negatively impact the scores of the entire student body."