Minnesota - Preliminary settlement reached in lawsuit over test- score snafu

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A preliminary settlement has been reached in the class-action lawsuit against the Eden Prairie testing company that incorrectly scored the state's basic-skills math test in 2000, according to an attorney for the plaintiffs.

The error resulted in 8,000 Minnesota students being told they had failed the test when they had actually passed.

The lawsuit against NCS Pearson has been closely watched at a time when the federal government is dramatically expanding K-12 testing.

The case was set to go to trial in Hennepin County District Court on Monday, but has now been taken off the trial calendar after both parties came to an agreement Wednesday, said Shawn Raiter, lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

"The parties have agreed to the main principles and now we're going to work on the details," he said, adding that the details are "pretty insignificant."

The terms are confidential until Judge Allen Oleisky gives preliminary approval to the settlement, an action expected in the next two weeks, Raiter said.

Raiter said he is confident that Oleisky will approve it because he was involved in crafting the settlement.

A spokesman for NCS Pearson, formerly National Computer Systems Inc., declined to comment Thursday night. The company no longer scores the test involved in the suit. According to the company's Web site, it is the largest commercial processor of student tests for K-12 schools in the nation.

Forty-eight seniors didn't get to participate in their high school graduation ceremonies in the spring of 2000 because of the scoring debacle. Sixteen later participated in a NCS Pearson-funded graduation ceremony whose host was Gov. Jesse Ventura.

The testing giant also gave checks to more than 60 families and granted college tuition vouchers to at least a dozen seniors.

More than two years after the scoring error, the named plaintiffs are all doing fine, Raiter said, although the incident still weighs heavily on some.

Danielle Kurvers of Burnsville is now attending college at Minnesota State University, Mankato, he said. Kurvers and her parents were the first to sue the company after the errors were announced. Her suit seeking damages for emotional distress was merged with three others and certified as a class-action, making the 8,000 affected students and their families eligible for any potential damages.

"We have been in suit for 26 months," Raiter said. "There were various times that we discussed settlement."

But as often happens with cases, "the parties get much more serious as trial approaches," he said. "That's really what happened here."

If Judge Oleisky gives preliminary approval to the settlement, then the members of the class-action will be given an opportunity to comment on or object to the terms, Raiter said.

If there are no objections, the settlement will be presented to the judge for his final approval. Raiter said the whole process could take six to eight weeks.

Earlier this year, the state Department of Children, Families, and Learning announced that another company, Data Recognition Inc. of Maple Grove, had been awarded the contract to administer many of the state's tests, beginning last July. Agency officials said the scoring error had nothing to do with NCS Pearson's failure to get the contract.

State officials have said that they have added safeguards to prevent future scoring errors.

Star Tribune

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2002


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