Appeal hearings are underway for staff members who were fired by the Jackson Public School District (JPS) after an investigation revealed testing irregularities at seven schools.
A total of 17 employees were terminated in early September, while nearly two dozen other staff members were either suspended or issued letters of reprimand for their involvement.
The investigation, which was conducted by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) in mid-August, was sparked after irregularities in statewide testing were identified by a third party called Cavan, Inc. After submitting their findings back to the MDE, the internal investigation showed that the irregularities occurred in seven schools on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP).
MAAP assesses students in grades 3-8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics and grades 5-8 in Science, Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and U.S. History.
JPS released that four of the seven schools experienced isolated incidents of testing irregularities in a specific grade level, classroom, and/or subject area:
- Marshall Elementary School
- Dawson Elementary School
- Wilkins Elementary School
- Lanier High School
The other three schools experienced testing irregularities that were more pronounced and in multiple grade levels and subject areas:
- Peeples Middle School
- Lester Elementary School
- McLeod Elementary School
