CEO Coleman voices concerns about state’s administration of MEAP exams

Monday, October 31, 2005

William F. Coleman III, CEO of the Detroit Public Schools, issued the following statement about the manner in which the Michigan Department of Education has managed the administration of the fall 2005 MEAP tests:

“While we understand the rationale for moving up the MEAP to the fall, we are deeply troubled by the execution. Distribution, in particular, has been a problem. In dozens of instances, test materials have either arrived too late or not at all. This has in turn disrupted instruction in the District. As a result of this disruption, we will not be able to administer all of the quarterly assessments of our students scheduled for this school year. These assessments are a critical part of the education of our children. They help us gauge how well the students are doing academically, if we are keeping pace with the curriculum, and whether we need to adjust our instructional strategies.

“We are also concerned that there have been several errors in the examination booklets. But our biggest concern is that all these disruptions and the glitches in the distribution of the examination materials have the potential to retard the progress we’ve made on the MEAP in recent years. We call on the Michigan Department of Education to take steps to mitigate the impact that these problems are having on instruction in our schools as well as on student performance on the MEAP.”