MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After the state’s new, online TNReady test turned out to be not all that ready, state Education Commissioner Candice McQueen spoke with WREG over a conference call to discuss what went wrong.
“We are also disappointed and are incredibly grateful to the districts for their patience and cooperation,” McQueen said.
She said the state’s vendor for TNReady, Measurement Incorporated, is working to schedule the printing and sending of paper tests to school districts.
Soon, third through 11th graders in Shelby County, and across the state, will take the state’s new TNReady test, designed to replace part of the TCAP.
Measurement Incorporated experienced a major outage Monday when the window opened for the brand new test.
The state said students trying to take the test experienced trouble like frozen screens and problems logging on.
Even though the state is reviewing its contract with Measurement Incorporated, it is working with the vendor to print and send paper TNReady tests for this school year.
“Tennessee is not moving backwards. We are moving forward to online testing, and we will continue to move forward to statewide online testing,” McQueen said.
The state has a five-year contract with Measurement Incorporated for about $108 million dollars.
So far, McQueen said the state has only paid the vendor for delivered items. In this case, that’s about $1.6 million for developing the test, regardless of whether that test is online or on paper.
Still, Monday’s flop of a roll-out has leaders around the state talking.
“As a parent, I don’t have confidence in the state of Tennessee when it comes to testing,” said SCS Board Member Stephanie Love.
“Our children are at stake. The only one who suffers in all of this are the children, the teachers, and the communities,” said Tennessee Representative Antonio Parkinson.
The state said it will get in touch with districts by Thursday with the new testing window for the first part of the TNReady test. TNReady is administered in two parts.
Tuesday, Parkinson asked the state to consider a three-year pause for TNReady results. Students could still take the new test, but the results would not be held against teachers, students, or schools.
Last year, the governor and General Assembly lowered the impact of TNReady results on teacher evaluations. It will count for ten percent this year. The state said that legislation lets districts decide how evaluations weigh on personnel decisions.
