MARIETTA - Some Cobb school board members said Wednesday that Superintendent Fred Sanderson never told them he switched the grade in which the national Iowa Test of Basic Skills is given in middle school from eighth grade to seventh grade for this school year.

Board member David Morgan of Austell said he was "astonished" to learn at Wednesday's board meeting that Sanderson made the change, which he opposes.

Board member Alison Bartlett, who represents the Osborne community, said she learned about it a few weeks ago - from a parent, not from Sanderson.

Bartlett said the change is significant because it impacts the board's strategic plan, which is supposed to list past Cobb test scores from various tests to serve as a baseline by which to judge future academic progress.

By switching the Iowa test from eighth grade to seventh grade, Sanderson eliminated the baseline for the Iowa test in middle school, Bartlett said.

But board Chairman Dr. John Abraham said the board's strategic plan, which it voted to receive in a 7-0 vote June 10, contained the Iowa change within the plan. Abraham said if Morgan and Bartlett had read the plan before adopting it they would have known that the change was included.

A review of the June 10 minutes do show the board voting to accept the strategic plan, but mention nothing about the Iowa test.

A review of the tape recorded June 10 meeting show that during the 20 minute discussion before the vote, the Iowa change was never mentioned.

Besides, Dr. Judi Jones, the district's Chief Accountability & Research Officer, said Wednesday during a break in the meeting, the testing changes are decided by the superintendent, not the board, so the board would not have reason to vote on them anyway.

Jones said Cobb has used the Iowa Test for eighth-graders for the last decade or longer.

"We generally don't notify BOE members of testing calendar changes but do post the testing calendar on the website and send to schools," Jones wrote in a later email.

Apparently, Sanderson had planned to make the switch as early as May 27, for a document with that date titled "Cobb County School District System wide Testing Schedule 2009-2010" lists for seventh grade a "norm reference test." The Iowa test is a norm reference test.

Morgan said if he knew the Iowa test had been changed he would have "jumped up and screamed."

"There's no way on God's green earth that I voted for it," Morgan said.

In addition to eliminating the baseline for middle school, Bartlett and Morgan say giving the Iowa test to seventh grade students during the traditional September testing window is much too early to determine how a student faired in middle school since they will essentially only have had sixth grade under their belts before they take the test.

Wednesday Morgan called for a vote to keep the test at eighth grade in addition to having it at seventh grade - which would cost an extra estimated $50,000, Jones said. Morgan's motion was defeated 2-5, with only Bartlett supporting him.

Abraham called for a five-minute break just before the vote, in which board members left the public board room. Abraham denied discussing the matter behind closed doors during that break with other board members, saying he simply was checking with staff to make sure they voted on the strategic plan in June containing the Iowa test change.

The debate involves the difference between Georgia's Criterion Referenced Competency Test and the national Iowa test. Politicos argue the state test is manipulated to keep the pass bar low so that state officials can keep their jobs. Only when it comes to a national test, such as the Iowa test, in which scores can be compared against other states, do parents have an idea of how their child is fairing on a national level.

"When we look at where we are and where we want to go, I have no faith in the CRCT scores," Bartlett said.

Bartlett said when parents move to Georgia it's the national scores they look at, not the CRCT scores.

"Parents want to know how their kids are doing locally and nationally when it comes to testing," Morgan said.

Morgan cited Sanderson's often made comment about how he wants Cobb to be a "world class" school system. Morgan said if Cobb simply uses the state test to measure progress, it's just comparing itself against other Georgia school districts. He said the University of Georgia's football team would be laughed out of town if they only competed against Georgia Southern. The Georgia Bulldogs compete against out-of-state teams such as the Florida Gators to earn respect, he said.

Morgan said after the meeting he knew he didn't have the votes to alter the grades in which the Iowa test is given, but he wanted to show the public that even after a reasoned debate, the "status quo" will still not change their minds.

"I'm deeply, deeply disappointed. We all need to be on the same page," Morgan said, on Sanderson not informing him of the testing change.

Cobb also gives the Iowa test in third and fifth grades.

In other business Wednesday, Sanderson recommended to the board how it should fill the latest $9.4 million hole in its budget from state cuts. Sanderson said the board would save $1.8 million by reducing local funding for summer school.

Yet in summer 2008 officials reported that Cobb students failed more than half of their summer school retests.

"In the summer ... you just don't have enough time to really do everything you need to do," Dr. Jones said at the time.

In 2007, about 53 percent of Cobb students passed the retests.

Then Cobb school board Chairwoman Betty Gray said the time is "just too short."

"Especially with elementary and middle school folks, they have to have some sort of time to learn, review and relearn. That's hard to manage in what, 20 days? It's just not enough time," Gray said.

Other cuts Sanderson has proposed include:

n Eliminating the 56 key team positions that were recently created to report to Associate Superintendent Dr. Steve Constantino, for a savings of $4.7 million.

n Reducing general fund fuel budget by $1.4 million.

n Reducing the county wide building contingency fund by $1 million.