Online problems disrupt STAAR testing
Some kids must return to school to retake exams
Students in San Antonio and across the state — including some who have been learning at home — came to school Tuesday for statemandated STAAR testing they couldn’t complete due to glitches with the online system.
The first day of the STAAR came amid an ongoing pandemic that has many families still trying to decide whether or when to return their students to in-person learning. The STAAR must be taken in person and those who were unable to complete any of three tests affected by Tuesday’s problems will need to return to campus to try again.
The problems were described as widespread, the result of connectivity issues at Educational Testing Service, or ETS, a vendor used by the Texas Education Agency to administer the STAAR.
“All involved in public education in Texas should expect better than what they have experienced today; we are working to ensure that our students do not experience future testing issues,” a TEA statement said.
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, is the standardized test that underlies the TEA’S annual ratings of schools and school districts. Passing its fifth- and eighth-grade reading and math exams has been required for students to advance to the next grade.
But those consequences have been suspended during the pandemic — the STAAR is being given this week mainly to see where students stand academically after a year of educational upheaval. The TEA directed school districts to “encourage” at-home learners to participate in a bid to improve the value of the data on student progress or learning loss amid a school year like no other.
Tuesday’s glitches occurred with the writing exam for grades 4 and 7 and the test for high school
English I on the first of five days that students were eligible to take these tests online. ETS had problems with its database system and has been working to make the necessary corrections, the TEA said.
At North East ISD, the issues became evident early in the morning when some students were unable to log on. Some who got past that step got kicked off the platform, district spokeswoman Aubrey Chancellor said.
“Everyone who was testing on paper continued with no problems,” Chancellor said. “Once some of the students stopped trying to log on and the traffic was lessened, then some of our students were able to get on and they continued their testing without issue today.”
At least 1,400 NEISD students will need to retest and will be rescheduled for April 13, she said.
Northside ISD experienced the same connectivity issues and officials are working to finalize plans for those who were unable to test, spokesman Barry Perez said. The district sent a notification of the glitches to parents, but each campus was working on sending individual notifications to those needing to retest.
“Some schools were affected more than others,” Perez said. “The other issue is that there is a second test scheduled for Thursday … the last we heard from ETS is that they hope to let everyone know by 5 a.m. tomorrow if they have been able to resolve the connectivity issues.”
Tuesday’s tests would likely be rescheduled for April 13, Perez said, if there is no issue with other tests.
It’s unclear how many students across the state were affected, TEA officials said. Some students were able to complete and submit their tests online without any issues.
Some experienced slow response times and were able to answer some of the questions but could not finish the exam. The software saved responses every 30 seconds, so those students will be able to finish the exam at a later date without having to start from the beginning.
“We understand the frustration this has caused students, parents, teachers, and administrators. What happened today is completely unacceptable,” the TEA statement said.
This year is ETS’ last year handling the administration of the online exams. Cambium Assessment will take over starting next school year “to ensure that users have a seamless online testing experience moving forward,” the TEA said.
TEA had made the decision to change testing vendors before Tuesday’s glitches.
The state’s decision to issue the test in person this year was immediately controversial mainly due to COVID-19 concerns.
“There’s no way around the fact that this was a big decision for so many families who have been virtual this year,” Chancellor said. “At the same time, this was the first time that so many students were taking it (the STAAR test) online and sometimes technology fails. So I think we have to be a little understanding of that.”
Some lawmakers, parents and teachers have criticized the TEA’S requirement that students take the test in person this year and have called for the STAAR to be canceled. Texas State Teachers Association President Ovidia Molina called it absurd and risky.
“Throughout the state, many students who have been learning virtually from home all school year to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19 trudged back to campuses today,” Molina said in a prepared statement. “Now, many of them will have to return to campuses to try again.”