The Texas Education Agency is asking the state Legislature for $1 million for investigations into irregularities in student tests, the Huffington Post reports. Education Commissioner Michael Williams says the money would “create a special investigations unit that would be in charge of reviewing reports that suggest serious testing irregularities” and reinstate random school audits that were slashed due to budget cuts, according to the Dallas Morning News. Officials say the funding would strengthen the administration of the state’s new standardized test, in its second year. The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, made its debut in March as a more rigorous replacement for the previous Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Cheating on standardized exams continues to be a problem in Texas, as 49 teachers and administrators have been sanctioned for violating state testing rules between 2007 and 2011…
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