Baltimore school officials ordered that monitors be added to every city school administering the Maryland School Assessments this year, an unprecedented measure. The move followed an investigation a year ago that found test tampering at an award-winning school and led to the removal of a principal at another school pending an investigation into plummeting test scores.
City school officials said 157 test monitors were hired to serve in elementary and middle schools, where students began taking state assessments in math, science, and reading this month. Every Maryland student in 3rd through 8th grade is tested in the subjects.
The additional monitors, who are primarily retired educators and substitute teachers, will cost about $320,000, school officials said. In addition to the monitors, certified central-office staff members are serving as “testing coordinators,” each responsible for overseeing the tests at five to six schools.
