KEY TEST PUBLISHER MISSES DEADLINE; STANFORD 9 BASIC-SKILLS EXAM TO ARRIVE LATE AT BURBANK SCHOOLS.

Byline: Mary Lou Aurelio and Greg Gittrich Daily News Staff Writers

Burbank students are gearing up to take the Stanford 9 exam starting April 26, but shipping delays could mean glitches because of the rush and overtime work for administrators, an official said Wednesday.

Publisher Harcourt Brace has told state officials that a computer crash and a blizzard in Iowa delayed shipment of the mandatory basic skills test. Many California school districts already have had problems. Of the 245 districts scheduled to begin testing in March, only 29 received the materials in the approved time frame and 73 got the test after the exam was scheduled to start.

The Los Angeles Unified School District hasn't been affected, but the 11,000 tests destined for Burbank will arrive late.

Burbank district officials plan to come in on the weekend to get the tests to the schools in time to meet the schedule, but teachers might not be able to check the test booklets before handing them out.

``In a time crunch, quality controls tend to be done away with,'' said district coordinator Caroline Brumm. ``When there's no time to check, second-grade test booklets could be stapled with a page backward. You can't let a 7-year-old determine if the test is right.''

Harcourt Brace has offered to cover Burbank's overtime costs, which Brumm says could involve a whole weekend if the tests don't arrive by April 16.

Three other administrators would need to join her to get the work done, she said.

``We have to do an inventory and a count, so every teacher will receive the allotted number that the sites are supposed to get,'' Brumm said.

With 11,000 tests for students in second through 11th grades, that's a lot of work. ``That means seven wooden pallets of 40 cases, and all of them have to be opened and checked,'' she said.

State regulations require the publisher to deliver materials to the districts at least 10 days before the start of the test.

``The publisher agreed to a window so we'd get the tests at headquarters 10 days before they are due to go out to the school sites,'' Brumm said. He said they were scheduled to arrive Wednesday. ``Now, they say they're not shipping ours until April 12. They say they're behind.''

Harcourt Brace officials were in Sacramento on Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

``Harcourt has been working to catch up,'' said Linda Lownes, consultant for the state Department of Education's standards, curriculum and assessment division. ``We've been told they will get back on track, and we don't expect any problems with scheduled deliveries . . . But we can't confirm that the schools will receive the materials on time.''

She said some districts are not getting the 10-day advance time.

State officials are conducting a survey to determine extra expense and any other damage caused by delays.

``The department is very concerned, as is the state board,'' Lownes said. ``It doesn't appear that it would be a problem in terms of the validity of the tests. But it is a major inconvenience and expense for the schools. Tests are backing up on top of tests.''

Faculties in many districts were required to work overtime and on the weekends to get the materials ready for the scheduled tests.

Harcourt publishes the Stanford test and contacts with a private company, STAR of Newport Beach, to arrange the shipment and testing dates.

The Glendale and Los Angeles unified school districts have not experienced problems with their test shipments, according to officials.

Ina Roth, director of student testing and evaluation for the LAUSD, said the district receives the tests in waves. The shipment for the March 15 test was received one week before about 100,000 students took the exam.

The district also has received the tests to be distributed to schools for use April 19.

Shipment for the May 3 exam was not scheduled to be delivered yet.