MCPS Playing with Test Scores Back in 1998

September 2, 1998
Scholastic Assessment Test scores among African-American students in Montgomery County public high schools declined three points this year.
Or was it really 14 points?
A report released Tuesday by school officials said SAT scores for African-American students declined by three points. But the 1998 figure is 14 points lower than the figure the system reported for black students in 1997.
School officials say the discrepancy is a result of SAT scores being "realigned" to more accurately reflect racial designations in the school system database, rather than the racial designations reported by the College Board, which administers the test.
The 14-page report does not explain that the 1998 figures reflect this change.
Montgomery County Schools spokesman Brian Porter discussed the change after the Gazette questioned a discrepancy in the figures.
In the school system report, charts detailing racial statistics have a footnote that says "groups are defined by MCPS official enrollment data." There is no further explanation. Porter said the scores of 835 students had to be reclassified by race and ethnicity because the students didn't properly fill out forms designating their background...

 http://ww2.gazette.net/gazette_archive/1998/199835/damascus/news/a49956-1.html