NMPED wants to check for cheating

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) - Are some New Mexico teachers cheating?

The New Mexico Public Education Department plans on implementing an erasure-analysis program which will make sure student answers on standardized tests are not changed by teachers or administrators.

The department says there is no indication that any of that type of behavior is currently happening in the state.

However, they say that implementing the analysis will ensure that if it happens, the PED could examine who is responsible for the changes. They also say that the analysis will help to make sure they are collecting accurate data as to where students are at in their education.

As it stands now, the price for collecting the data will cost the department around $70,000. The PED adds that the money for this analysis program had been previously set aside.

The group that collects the proficiency tests on students grades 3 - 8 and grade 11 will be responsible for analyzing how often erasure marks were made during the tests. They will also look at correct to incorrect ratios on the tests. If there is cause for alarm, then the PED says they will look closer into what may be happening in a particular school or district.

All of this comes on the heels of a cheating scandal in Atlanta, Georgia schools where teachers and principals are said to have erased incorrect student marks to correct answers.