MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson decided the TNReady tests would not impact student’s final grades. This come after there were several cases of online testing starting and stopping. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was even asked to look into claims the state testing database Questar was hacked.
For teachers, Tennessee lawmakers tell us this year’s scores should not negatively affect teacher’s either, it will only affect them if it will help them.
Keith Williams, Executive Director of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, still has questions.
“According to the law that they passed, it should not be used for employment, pay or termination decisions. It should not impact them in that way this year. The problem with that is there is a three year average that teachers use to get their LOE score. Now, if they’re going to keep that data and use it going forward it could still impune the teacher.”
For Williams, the concern is, “If a test had been ruled invalid across the state then it should not be used in any way, for any reason or for anybody.”
While Williams believes standardized testing has become overdone and often does not cover the correct standards children are taught, as we look to 2019, he says there are many issues those at the state level must hash out.
“Whether or not next year is going to be paper and pencil, whether it will only be for elementary or high school, I just don’t know. I don’t know if this state has the bandwidth to do that, and we’ve proven it at least three times that we can not do it.”
