ABSTRACT
Cheating on statewide assessments (SWAs) has gone on for decades. Current and former state directors of assessment can share amusing, startling, and even depressing anecdotes of the perpetrators caught in their particular state. Based on a review of literature, Thiessen (2007) estimates that 25% of educators cheat on standardized tests; this cheating may range from subtle (e.g. teaching to the test) to blatant (e.g. changing student answer documents). This figure provides a disquieting perspective of the validity of student response data used to make many important decisions. Cheating on SWAs may have serious implications for the psychometric integrity of item parameters and test scores as well as the validity of the use of those test scores.
