Caveon in the News

A selection of recent news articles featuring Caveon Test Security.

To Catch a Cheat
The pressure is on for schools to raise test scores. Some, it seems, are willing to resort to anything.
By Peg Tyre - Newsweek
> View full article on Newsweek website
October 15, 2007 - Issue

In 2005, Caveon found that 700 public schools had suspicious test scores—and though all but a few schools were cleared, the state education commissioner resigned amid the controversy and new testing regulations were put in place.

All of which is providing an unexpected windfall for educational psychologist John Fremer, president of Caveon Test Security. His Utah-based company conducts what is called data forensics—computer analysis of test results—for elementary, middle and high schools. In the past two years, his tiny company has landed contracts in 11 states, including Texas, Florida and Massachusetts. "Right now," says Fremer, "there's a lot of concern about the fairness and validity of standardized tests."

Back in 2003, when Caveon was founded, no one was paying too much attention to testing in grades K through 12. Then, Caveon's focus was making sure testing for professional licenses, like massage therapist or food inspector, went smoothly. But as No Child Left Behind increased pressure on schools, Caveon's K-12 business took off.

Its method for catching cheaters is based on probability. Caveon computers analyze the fill-in-the-bubble-type multiple-choice answer sheets for patterns. If, say, 80 out of 100 kids get an answer correct on a math test, that probably means the teacher covered that material sufficiently. If, however, Caveon software detects that 50 kids out of 100 have a long string of identical wrong answers on a big chunk of a multiple-choice test, or a suspicious erasure pattern, Caveon recommends that authorities start asking teachers and principals some hard questions.

> View full article on Newsweek website

FSBPT Invalidates NPTE Scores of 20 Philippines-Educated Candidates Following Forensic Analysis of Test Results
Forensic Analysis Conducted to Investigate Effect of Trafficking in Recalled Test Items Leads to Invalidation of 20 Candidate Test Scores
> View article on FSBPT website
August 20, 2007

On Friday, August 17, 2007, the Board of Directors of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy approved the invalidation of 20 candidates’ National Physical Therapy Exam (“NPTE”) test results. This decision resulted from an extensive forensic analysis of the test performances of all candidates who sat for the NPTE between March 1, 2005 and June 5, 2007.

The forensic analysis, conducted by Caveon, a test security company, was commissioned in response to the unlawful trafficking of NPTE questions by Philippines-based exam prep centers. Through its own private investigation efforts, as well as Philippines government surveillance and raids of two Manila test centers in January 2007, FSBPT has confirmed that the centers have distributed to customers compilations of actual NPTE test questions memorized and shared by prior test takers (“recalled items”). In an effort to assess the potential effects of this practice of using recalled test items, Caveon analyzed approximately 23,512 test performances of all NPTE candidates, regardless of place of education.

Caveon’s analysis conclusively establishes that at least twenty individuals benefited unfairly from advance access to recalled test items. All twenty candidates are Philippines-educated, some but not all of whom are already licensed to practice physical therapy. FSBPT’s assessment and review of the Caveon forensic analysis is continuing, so as to determine whether additional candidate score invalidation is appropriate.

In identifying these twenty candidates, the forensic analysis used three statistical indices to identify aberrant candidate performances. First, performance on compromised test questions (those known to be compromised by distribution at Philippines-based test prep centers) was compared to performance on non-compromised test items. Second, the similarity among candidate response choices was examined, with higher degrees of similarity suggesting the possibility of prior knowledge of test content. Third, the analysis computed the probability that each test taker had attended a course at which recalled items were used. In each case, the percentage of candidates flagged as aberrant was highest for Philippines-educated test takers.

FSBPT limited the universe of “aberrant” test performances under each of the three indices to those test results whose likelihood of occurring by chance was at least 1 in 10,000 (one in ten thousand). The twenty invalidated candidate scores are those that appeared aberrant based on all three statistical indices. The likelihood of aberrant performance on all three statistical indices is extremely unlikely and at least less than 1 in one million.

“As with every decision we’ve made in addressing the troubling use of recalled items, the FSBPT Board did not take this action lightly,” stated E. Dargan Ervin, Jr., FSBPT President. “We made the decision only after careful consideration of the issues and in light of the overwhelming statistical data that calls into question the legitimacy of these scores.”

Putting tests to the test
Caveon providing an answer to administrator's security needs
Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, Utah
By Brice Wallace
April 29, 2007

DRAPER — Caveon Test Security is a company:
A. Based in Utah.
B. Specializing in helping test administrators thwart cheating on standardized exams.
C. With experience poring over more than 50 million test records.
D. That has reviewed 5 million test records for a single customer.
E. All of the above.

The answer, as one might guess, is E.

The young company says it is the only one of its type in the world, using institutional knowledge and statistical savvy to provide customers who suspect test cheating with, well, answers.

"We have services for testing programs administering large-scale, high-stakes tests," Chief Executive Officer Dave Foster said, mentioning the Graduate Record Exam, the College Board's SAT and the ACT as examples.

"Almost everyone has taken a test, and with good security, the test scores that come out of them are something that can be trusted. If cheaters are effective, and we know they are — our data has shown that cheaters generally pass the tests and generally get the higher scores — then how much can you trust them?"

The problems

Test cheating has come a long way from crib notes scribbled on one's palm, but crude variations nonetheless flourish. Don Sorensen, Caveon's vice president of marketing, includes many in his list of 50 ways to cheat on tests, part of a marketing presentation. Rubber bands around the wrist, the inside labels of water bottles, the backs of neckties and even food wrappers can be employed to conceal test answers.

Sometimes, it's not the test-takers instigating the trouble. Administrators have been known to help out students. Foster knows of one case in which a test prep organization sold answers to students.

"And the No Child Left Behind Act has put tremendous pressure on educators to measure up to get that federal funding," he said.

But technology has opened new doors for both cheaters and those who steal and then sell test information. Some calculators can store answers. Wireless communications, photo-taking cell phones and ear buds can be used to gain advantages. Document scanners as small as a pen can copy entire tests, with the info often then made available on the Internet. In some situations, test-takers simply memorize an exam's contents and either share or sell it online.

"All indications are it's getting worse, and I don't think it's because we're just getting more sensitive and attuned to it," Foster said. "The technology to capture and share the information, those things have put solid programs, ones that have existed for 80 years, in jeopardy.

"It's not just the cheating; it's the theft. There's a big business out there where someone can log in and capture information with a digital camera or some other way, then you put it out on the Internet and sell the content to other folks. There's a huge business."

For example, a test-taker might spend $29 buying questions for an information technology certification program test online, memorize the answers and pass the test.

"The worst that I've seen is in the IT certification world, these 'brain dump' sites. It takes not two weeks for the entire text of the test to be available at these brain dump sites for purchase. ... Testing companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars developing tests, and when it goes out and within a week it's freely available, all that money is wasted," Foster said.

"These kinds of threats are relatively new and sometimes they are not prepared to handle them. What they've been doing for decades has worked, and these are new issues for them."

While acknowledging that pinpointing the extent of cheating is elusive, Foster pegs the figure at between 5 percent and 30 percent of people being tested. "And programs that are more lax with security would have more problems," he added.

The solutions

So, what's a test program to do? Many have called upon Caveon for help, and the company offers three basic services.

One is the Caveon Security Audit, a 250-point evaluation of a testing program's security practices and policies to check for strengths and weaknesses. Another is the Caveon Web Patrol, monitoring the Internet for the sale, barter or other disclosure of test information.

"If you went out on eBay now and searched for actual test questions, you'll probably see several offerings," Foster said.

Sure enough, last week's auction-site bounty included a guide for an aircraft pilot certification test and questions and answers to tests for a commercial driver's license and real estate exams from several states.

The third service is Caveon Data Forensics, statistical analyses of test results to check for patterns that indicate cheating. The company's statistical models dictate how results should look, and the actual results are compared to the models. The analyses can detect possible cheating, test theft, a person taking a test on behalf of someone else, collusion or other shenanigans. Plain old guessing is taken into account in the models.

"If, say, 1,000 people take a test, we get their results — how did they answer every question and how long did it take them. Then we crunch all those raw data and we look for patterns of irregularity in the data," Foster said.

"For example, if you're a really smart person and you really know the content, you should be able to get all the easy questions right and start struggling with the more difficult ones. If you don't know as much, you should get some of the easy ones right and then not get any of the difficult ones right. Those are normal patterns. But if we see a pattern where a person is missing some of the easy ones and getting some of the very difficult ones correct, we suspect they're not really taking the test in a normal way that a person with a particular ability does."

Time also is a key criterion. The company once discovered a person answering 60 questions correctly and doing so averaging less than five seconds per question on a test that usually took a normal person up to two minutes to answer each of the more difficult questions.

"You know by looking at the timing that this person had preknowledge," Foster said. "They brought all the answers with them, recognized the questions and popped in all the answers."

Collusion is indicated if people at the same test site answer questions exactly the same way, missing the same questions with the same answers. Someone could be coaching them, Foster said.

"We're very conservative about when we spot a problem, but it's very clear in areas where there is a problem," Sorensen said. "We've reviewed 50 million test records now, and it's amazing as you review that many records the patterns you do see."

"We use a very conservative statistical threshold because we don't want to cancel a score or take something from someone unless you're sure," Foster said. "We're not gimmicky at all. We're rooted in solid statistical theory. Our decisions are based on data and not in conjecture, and customers like that."

Caveon's reports to customers include recommendations based on the spotted problems. For instance, teachers administering tests might be replaced with uninterested observers.

"Statistical evidence isn't strong evidence to support a legal action," Foster said. "What you need is observation. So our measures don't lend themselves to that kind of legal action, which is fine anyway. Prevention is the best way."

On the Caveon Web site, Steve Moore, certification program manager for Sun Microsystems, says that Data Forensics is "giving us 'red flags' to help identify not only where unusual testing patterns are occurring, but who is involved." The resulting evidence ensures that "decision-making can be based on real facts versus simple hunches about cheating, piracy and test center issues."

Caveon audited South Carolina's high school assessment program, which serves as the state's high school exit exam. "We want to make certain it is fair," Terry Siskind, assessment director for the South Carolina State Department of Education, says on the Web site.

A real test

But checking for fairness can be a daunting task. Caveon notes that about 20,000 North American testing programs administer nearly 125 million tests for qualification, selection and advancement of people in education and business.

That's where its founders saw a need for improved test security. Veterans of the testing industry came together to form the company in early 2004 — the name coming from "caveo," Latin for protection and security — and now the company has about 60 customers. They include boards, institutes and associations overseeing tests for surgeons, lawyers, Certified Public Accountants, nurses, hazardous-materials managers and others, including school districts conducting K-12 student assessments in 12 states.

The Institute for Hazardous Materials Management tests about 800 people a year. The state of Texas tests about 5 million students annually.

"That's been probably the most pleasant surprise for us, that the models we use don't have to be adapted a whole lot," Foster said. "A little bit, but not much. We can deal with a test where only 100 people have taken it versus one where 5 million have taken it. The models don't change much."

Charges for the services vary from under $1,000 to analyze data for a lawsuit to "hundreds of thousands" for Texas, Foster said.

The company turned its first profit in 2006 on sales of about $2 million, and it is expecting to grow 50 percent to 80 percent during the next two or three years. That would be fine for many young companies, but Foster admits it has been slower than originally expected.

"Security is not a pleasant topic. Customers tend to come to us when a breach has occurred, not because they really want to work on security. They really want to work on it after a breach," he said.

"By going to a security company, you acknowledge you have doubts about your own security. You have to get past that barrier. And there is a positive message in that, one that many of them are not used to saying: 'Our procedures aren't working. We need new procedures."'

"It's kind of a momentum thing," Sorensen said. "We knew from the beginning there would be time needed to educate the market. Because of the technology moving so quickly, it's really moving to the forefront."

Looking ahead

But Foster believes Caveon has a head-start on possible competitors because many test security companies rely on old models — people or perhaps cameras watching test-takers. "I don't think we'll see anything in the way of serious competition within five years," he said.

Caveon already has branched out a bit, forming a joint venture called Kryterion with Dutch educational testing company Cito and Toronto-based human resources recruitment company Drake International. Kryterion (www.kryteriononline.com) allows people to take tests securely via the Internet from any location. "After five or six questions, we know if it's a valid test," Foster said.

As for Caveon, Foster expects the company in five years to have hundreds of employees and revenues approaching $100 million. He expects it to serve international markets "where the problems are no less than what we have in the U.S."

"We've just scratched the surface of our own technologies to fight cheating. These things we've come up with are somewhat crude compared to what we'll have in five years," Foster said.

"Anytime you're in an industry where nothing has been done for a hundred years, there's so much that can be done — with the Internet, with technology, with analyses. The world just opens up, and that's what's waiting for Caveon."

TEA takes steps to improve test security
Abilene Reporter News
By Shirley J. Neeley, Texas State Commissioner of Education
May 28, 2006

Standardized testing has been an integral part of the Texas public school system for many years. Everything from pinpointing areas in which students need additional instruction to earning a high school diploma relies on the test results.

Results must be valid and reliable. That's why the Texas Education Agency has an extensive and thorough test security system in place. Staff take allegations of wrongdoing seriously and investigate any matter that merits it. If we have one proven instance of cheating, then we are cheating children and that will not be tolerated.

The agency has taken a number of steps over the past year to strengthen a security system that was already considered to exceed industry standards.

Steps TEA has taken to improve test security include:

• Providing more extensive and intensive training and materials for test administrators.
• Requiring districts to adopt policies prohibiting cell phones in testing areas so that students or staff cannot use camera phones to take photos of the test or use text messaging to share answers.
• Hiring a national testing expert, Greg Cizek, to review security procedures. He found that ''TEA is among the leaders in test security procedures . . .''
• Undergoing a data forensics review by a leading test security company, Caveon, which looked for anomalies or unusual occurrences with test results.
• Increasing the test security task force, which investigates testing irregularities.
• Implementing a more stringent tracking system for secure testing material, such as test booklets and answer sheets.

The most recent development, the data forensic report by Caveon, shows what Caveon calls ''statistical inconsistencies'' at 702 out of 73,793 classrooms or 1 percent of the classrooms in which testing occurred. Those classes were located in 609 schools, which represent 8.6 percent of the schools involved in testing.

Caveon's security review looked for four types of irregularities:

• Very similar test responses, which could indicate that two or more students did not independently answer the test questions.
• Multiple marks or erasures. This could occur because of cheating as students switching wrong answers to correct ones, or the students could be using a process of elimination system in which they cross out answer choices that they know are not right. Once they have decided on the correct answer, they go back and erase the tic marks, which cause an unusually high, though not illegal, number of erasures.
• A large score gain, which could mean cheating occurred or, as Caveon points out, it could be attributable to ''excellent teaching and improved instructional resources or access.''
• Aberrant or unusual response patterns. Correctly answering hard questions and missing easy questions is an example of an unusual response pattern.

Overall, the Caveon report says, ''Based on this analysis, testing irregularities with the state appear to be isolated.'' The report also says, ''We emphasize that a statistical association between inconsistencies and testing irregularities does not imply that the identified inconsistencies are due to testing irregularities. Each identified inconsistency must be evaluated on its own merits in determining its cause.''

TEA has asked Caveon to supply a report that lists the districts in which testing inconsistencies were found, as well as the type of inconsistency found. The original information received simply lists the districts and schools but does not provide information about the issue detected.

Once the new list is provided, each district will be contacted and asked to look into the matter. The agency will also cross reference the Caveon list with reported testing irregularities and will take appropriate action. As occurs each year, security measures will be reviewed and adjusted if necessary. We will take any steps necessary to maintain the integrity of our testing program.

It is always important to move cautiously in this area because the reputations of schools, educators and students are at stake. Last year, one newspaper accused nearly 400 schools of having suspicious scores and essentially placing a scarlet ''C'' for cheating on the schools. Ultimately, wrongdoing was found at only a handful of those schools but the damage to the reputation of the schools where no wrongdoing occurred was done.

In the long run, the best defense against cheating on a test is to raise honest and ethical students and to hire honest and ethical educators. Texas parents and educators work day in and day out, year after year, to do just that.

Analysis suggests cheating on TAKS
TEA consultant cites suspicious scores in 1 in 12 Texas schools in ‘05
The Dallas Morning News
By Joshua Benton, The Dallas Morning News
May 23, 2006

About one in 12 Texas schools had unusual TAKS results that suggest cheating occurred last year, according to a consultant hired by the Texas Education Agency.

The consultant, a Utah test security firm named Caveon, was hired after a Dallas Morning News series found suspicious scores in nearly 400 schools statewide, based on 2003 and 2004 testing results.

The analysis found “statistical inconsistencies” in 609 of the 7,112 Texas public schools where testing was conducted last year. In many of those schools, only one classroom was found to have suspicious activity; in all, 702 classrooms statewide were identified.

Caveon’s report emphasizes that the statistical measures are not, by themselves, proof of cheating. In some cases, there may be another explanation for the unusual data patterns.

But the report says Caveon used “a very conservative statistical approach” that means “reasonable explanations of these inconsistencies by referring to normal circumstances become improbable.”

In one elementary school, 45 of the 262 answer sheets were exact duplicates of one another. An additional 29 students had perfect scores. In all, 141 answer sheets were flagged by the analysis, and Caveon says the chances of such a pattern happening naturally would be less than 1 in 1 trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion - a 1 followed by 72 zeros.

To read the full article click here. Registration required.

Missing: 20,000 standardized tests
Of statewide total, DISD leads in exams lost, mostly TAKS
The Dallas Morning News
By Joshua Benton, The Dallas Morning News
November 8, 2005

More than 20,000 copies of state tests – supposedly kept under lock and key – disappeared from Texas schools this spring, according to state data. Dallas schools lost more than 7,000 test documents, more than any other district in the state.

State officials say they are reconsidering their testing security policies after some experts said having Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS, questions floating around the state could put the integrity of the testing system at risk.

"We probably need to look at some ways to strengthen our security," said Susan Barnes, associate commissioner of standards and programs at the Texas Education Agency.

"Every time you lose even one, it's potentially a problem," said John Fremer, former top test developer of the SAT and a founder of Caveon, the Utah company that Texas has hired to analyze its test results for signs of cheating. "Whenever you have a large operation where you send out millions of tests, you're going to have some shortage."

To read the full article click here. Registration required.

Firm to look for TAKS cheating
Company says it will search for patterns in Texas students' results
The Dallas Morning News
By Joshua Benton, The Dallas Morning News
July 19, 2005

A Utah company has been hired to investigate the test scores of Texas schools and determine which ones are cheating.

The decision to hire Caveon was prompted by a series of stories in The Dallas Morning News last winter that found highly unusual swings in test scores at some Texas schools. Investigations at some of those schools have found that dozens of educators in Dallas and Houston were improperly helping students with the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS.

"Cheating is a concern," said Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Suzanne Marchman. She said state Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley "doesn't feel like this is a widespread epidemic. But anyone who is cheating is cheating the student, and that needs to be addressed."

Caveon will be paid with tax dollars, although it is not being hired directly by the TEA. Instead, it will be a subcontractor for Pearson Educational Measurement, the company TEA pays to run its testing program. Caveon vice president Don Sorensen said he could not say how much the company would be paid.

Caveon will analyze student scores from this spring's TAKS test and look for unusual patterns.

Examples would include a student whose scores swing from abysmal to stellar in one year's time.

A News analysis found that nearly 400 Texas schools had suspicious swings in their test scores in at least one grade. The project stemmed out of suspicious scores in the Wilmer-Hutchins district, where one poor elementary school suddenly recorded the state's best scores on the high-stakes third-grade reading TAKS test.

A state investigation prompted by the stories found that two-thirds of elementary teachers in Wilmer-Hutchins were cheating or otherwise helping students improperly. Their methods included distributing answer keys to students or having brighter students correct the answers on weaker students' tests.

To read the full article click here. Registration required.

Security of School Tests Studied
Independent firm says state Education Department doing well, could improve
The State.com
By Czerne M. Ried, Staff Writer
May 9, 2005

A recent independent security audit by Utah-based Caveon Test Security found that, while the Education Department and its contractors are doing a good job of maintaining security of testing methods and materials used in statewide assessments, there is still room for improvement.

“We didn’t contract with Caveon because there was any problem we were expecting or noticing,” said Teri Siskind, state Department of Education testing director. “It was a proactive look at security after dealing with other priorities."

To read the full article click here.

Cause of Diving TAKS Scores Unclear
The Dallas Morning News
By Holly K. Hacker, The Dallas Morning News
April 26, 2005

Just looking at the numbers doesn't prove any unethical behavior by teachers or students. But experts say that school and district leaders should look for reasons that explain the drops.

The scores "are very interesting, and in some cases they certainly look suspicious. Before drawing any conclusions about the data, deeper investigation is appropriate," said Jim Impara, director of test security services at Caveon, a Utah-based company.

He pointed to several questions to consider: Did attendance boundaries change? Did the teaching experience or methods at the school change? Did the school get an influx of new students?

Caveon officials say school and district testing coordinators should also look at how students performed on another test, if possible, to see whether the results are similar.

"You're trying to establish the logic, the reasonableness of these results," said John Fremer, another test security director at Caveon.

To read the full article click here. Registration required.

High-stakes Cheating Spawns New Market
eSchoolNews
By Robert Brumfield, Assistant Editor
March 9, 2005

When North Carolina recently hired security company Caveon Inc. of Utah to guard against cheating on standardized tests, it became at least the third state to outsource security services for its high-stakes testing to Caveon. South Carolina and Delaware have signed similar agreements with the company.

The security services that Caveon provides to guard against cheating on high-stakes tests are exhaustive. Some say such services are positive developments that will help ensure the fairness of high-stakes testing in the NCLB era. Others, however, believe that no amount of testing security can change a nationwide standard for testing that is itself critically flawed.

A primary benefit of the company's services for state and school leaders is that "they'll be able to clear things they might have had to worry about," Fremer said. Areas of testing deployment that could be a cause for concern can be investigated, and administrators' worries can be eased.

Caveon provides security audits that examine high-stakes testing procedures to determine the security strengths and weaknesses of the educational body being examined. The company then helps design best practices for schools to improve security.

Caveon is the first company specifically to provide security services for high-stakes testing in K-12 education.

To read the full article click here. Registration required.

When Tests' Cheaters are the Teachers
The Christian Science Monitor
By Kris Axtman, Staff Writer
January 11, 2005

The No Child Left Behind Act, which has some very solid goals, when implemented creates an awful lot of trouble in the schools," says John Fremer, a testing expert with 40 years of experience. While he says cheating has been around for as long as there have been tests, the difference in the past few years is that teachers and administrators are heavily involved, "something that's so alien to the concept of teaching.

To read the full article click here.

Honesty of PSSA testing at stake
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Susan Snyder, Staff Writer
April 4, 2005

When students begin taking Pennsylvania's reading and math exams today, they are likely to hear the age-old direction: Eyes on your own paper.

As increasingly higher-stakes testing puts the jobs of teachers and principals in under-performing schools at risk and makes cheating ever more tempting, who is ensuring that educators follow the rules?

The state Department of Education largely allows school districts to police themselves, and some with prior testing infractions are stepping up their vigilance this year...

A few states, including Delaware, have hired Caveon Test Security, based in Utah, to audit their testing systems or analyze tests for signs of cheating.

To read the full article click here. Registration required.

N.C. Hires Company to Inspect School Test Data
The Charlotte Observer
By Peter Smolowitz, Staff Writer
February 8, 2005

On Monday, North Carolina signed a $60,000 contract for a 2-year-old company called Caveon to analyze test data and search for red flags. North Carolina and South Carolina are among just three states to hire the Utah-based firm, believed to be the first of its kind. Delaware has also hired the company, and a co-founder said they're negotiating with about a dozen other states.

Caveon uses a process called Data Forensics to look for unusual patterns: Kids answering hard questions correctly and missing easy ones. An abnormally high pass rate in one class. Tests with several wrong answers erased and replaced with the right ones.

Caveon comes from the Latin word "caveo," meaning "safeguard." The company was founded in 2003 by a dozen people who had helped write and design tests, but worried about security as the Internet made it easier for people to publish answers in advance.

Caveon has worked with about 25 companies that offer entrance exams or certification tests. Caveon workers have helped businesses make it tougher for people to steal questions, and they have caught people selling questions on the Web.

Plan Outlined to Prevent Houston TAKS Cheating
Houston Chronicle
By Jason Spencer
January 6, 2005

HISD is part of a growing number of school districts to be confronted with cheating allegations in this era of high-stakes testing where the careers of administrators and teachers ride on their students' performance. Some school systems have taken major steps to guard against cheating.

Pittsburgh administrators hired independent monitors to oversee testing on every campus. Education officials in Indiana are finalizing a $25,000 contract with an outside firm to suggest ways to detect cheating on that state's exams.

"We go through your processes, materials, your rules for investigating an alleged security break and we make suggestions on how to do it better," said John Fremer, a consultant for Caveon Test Security, the Utah company hired to review Indiana's testing procedures. "It's for their benefit and I think that's going to become pretty much a standard practice."

Amid Testing Stress, Some Teachers Cheat
The Indianapolis Star
By Staci Hupp
January 2, 2005

Caveon, a new Utah consulting firm, operates as testing detectives for hire by schools and health care and other industries.

Indiana and at least six other states are expected to pay thousands of dollars to the testing security firm before the end of the school year. Delaware and South Carolina already are on board.

The group reviews state testing policies, analyzes student answer sheets for patterns of cheating and looks for test questions that have been leaked in advance.

"Simply announcing to everybody that you're doing something about security in itself has a beneficial effect," said John Fremer, Caveon's senior director of test security services. "It's like putting a sign in your yard that you have a security system. Someone who comes along is less likely to burglarize your house."