New Jersey says teachers gave improper help on tests

Eight New Jersey teachers, including one from the Gloucester Township district and one from the Upper Township district in Cape May County, gave students improper standardized-test assistance last year, according to state investigation records.

A teacher of children with behavioral disorders at Gloucester's James W. Lilley Jr. Elementary School was found to have improperly administered the NJ ASK4 test last May, according to information provided by the state on Friday.

He was put on administrative leave with pay. He was allowed to return but was denied his 2010-11 salary increase. District officials could not be reached Friday.

A fourth-grade teacher at Upper Township Elementary School was found to have breached test protocol, also last May, according to documents obtained through the Open Public Records Acts. She was suspended with pay and eventually returned to the district.

The Upper Township superintendent sought stronger action against her but could not muster enough school board votes, according to the state. District officials could not be reached Friday.

Both districts developed corrective plans, according to the state.

The other public-school teachers who broke testing rules were from Newark in Essex County, Freehold in Monmouth, and Bergen County's Woodcliff Lake, Lyndhurst and Elmwood Park. A teacher at a private school for disabled children in Elmwood Park also was found to have breached protocol.

The violations included alerting students when they made errors and giving them extra time.

Jeffrey Hauger, director of the state Education Department's Office of Student Learning Assessments, said any security breach was a serious matter, but "we have eight cases out of more than 800,000 tests administered in a year. That's a very tiny percentage we're talking about here."

State education spokesman Alan Guenther said the seven public teachers' cases had been submitted to the State Board of Examiners for review and possible sanctions in addition those taken at the district level.

The teachers' status could not be verified Friday. This year's testing for students in third through eighth grades began May 3 and continues through Friday.