Thousands of test results on hold because of company error

ATLANTA - A testing company hired to give standardized tests to almost 340,000 Georgia elementary school students made serious errors in grading them, delaying indefinitely the results for teachers and parents. <br> <br> The state Department of Education sent a letter to all school systems Tuesday warning them that the test results are bad and asking them to destroy score reports for the Stanford Achievement Test Series, called the Stanford Nine. <br> <br> Department spokeswoman Sarah Abbott says some, but not all, of the results had been sent out to schools. <br> <br> The tests are given to all third, fifth and eighth graders but are used only for planning purposes and do not affect whether students pass or fail, or whether teachers receive bonuses. The Stanford Nine was first administered last year as a way to compare Georgia students with pupils in other states. <br> <br> Abbott says the problem was not with the tests but in the way they were scored. Education officials noticed the scores were ``way off&#39;&#39; from last year in several categories and alerted the testing company, Harcourt Inc. of Orlando, Florida. <br> <br> Harcourt is paid about $540,000 year to create and grade the tests. The company did not immediately respond to phone calls, and it was not clear whether the problem occurred in other states.