The level of combat in the teacher certification wars escalated this week as the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) announced that the field test of its "Passport to Teaching" certification exam had been compromised by leaks to ABCTE opponents. (This new test is being developed as an alternative to traditional education school certification. A future test is also being developed as an alternative to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards super-teacher certification process.) ABCTE president Kathleen Madigan charged that David Imig, president of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, passed around confidential field test questions at a March 17 meeting, thereby invalidating $1.2 million in test development and several months worth of work. Imig told the Washington Post that he received the test from someone working on the project for ACT, which was developing the test for ABCTE, and only gave it to education professionals who understand the sensitive nature of the questions. (ABCTE has since parted ways with ACT and engaged a new test development partner, Promissor.) But Lisa Graham Keegan of the Education Leaders Council, which helped form ABCTE, shot back that "it is hard to conclude that there is not some sort of plan here to try to keep [the test] out of the market." In a later message to ABCTE supporters, she wrote, "We expected much of what occurred - from the printing of blatantly false editorials about the American Board to the dissemination of misleading material to state officials. Far less predictable and just plain shocking is the fact that some individuals have fraudulently obtained and widely circulated exam questions from the first American Board field test."
"Stolen test used against school initiative," by George Archibald, The Washington Times, June 11, 2003
"Education effort meets resistance," by Jay Mathews, Washington Post, June 10, 2003
"Teachers group leaks test, undermines Bush initiative," by George Archibald, Washington Times, June 10, 2003