Something important is going on at Data Recognition Corp. in Maple Grove, Minn., but company officials apparently don't want to speak publicly about it. Pennsylvania hired the company about five years ago to score standardized state exams that nearly 700,000 kids take annually in reading and math. The Valley News Dispatch asked two of the company's spokeswomen a dozen or so questions about how the company scores the tests. The spokeswomen got the questions on July 3. Some 26 days later, spokeswoman Judy McClellan responded with a firm "No comment." She said company officials decided against answering any of the Valley News Dispatch's questions. Asked what the reason for the refusal was, McClellan said "I just think they were looking from a business perspective of what was right for our company." Asked if it was because one or two questions were objectionable or compromised their trade secrets, she said no, it was just a business decision. She declined to answer any of them, even if some were thrown out. Asked if DRC doesn't answer media inquiries at all, McClellan didn't answer directly. Her response was "DRC respectfully declines the opportunity." This is despite the fact that the company admits it was given permission by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to answer any questions about the grading of the standardized tests. The Valley News asked DRC about what it is contracted to do for Pennsylvania, how much expertise the company has, how much they charge Pennsylvania and how long they've served Pennsylvania, their procedures for grading tests, how many Pennsylvania tests are graded each year, what equipment is used, why scores can't be returned faster, how open-ended questions are scored, and if they have any stock photos of the company exterior or scoring equipment. For the upcoming school year, Pennsylvania is scheduled to pay DRC about $14.2 million for its test preparation and scoring services, said state department of education spokesman Brian Christopher. Other departments of education that have hired the company include those from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia. Information from the DRC's Web site fills in some details: -- The company was formed in the mid-1970s. -- DRC uses optical mark read scanning to score multiple-choice test questions. This machine takes answer sheets and records whether marks appear on the paper in predefined areas. -- The company also uses image scanners to photograph students' responses to essay or open-ended questions. "Essays and open-ended response questions are some of the most effective ways to assess a student's abilities. Scoring these responses takes an extra measure of care," the Web site said. Panels of Pennsylvania teachers work with DRC officials to invent the checklists used to score open-ended questions, according to local teachers on these panels. -- DRC hires readers who hand-score the students' responses to open-ended questions. These readers are educators, writers, editors, and other professionals. Readers have, at a minimum, two years of college or four-year degrees when required by the client. The company's monitoring software analyzes every score assigned by a reader. Scoring directors review reports regularly to monitor each reader's scoring validity. -- DRC has four scoring facilities, one of which is in Harrisburg. The company recruits qualified readers. The company sometimes has as many as 1,000 people on the scoring staff at any time.

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