State won’t require every student to take TNReady online
Only high school students will be required to take the TNReady test online again next year after problems with the online tests in the past testing season, according to changes announced by the state Thursday.
Students in grades 5 through 11 will take the science test online, but the test won’t count toward student grades or teacher evaluations. The announcement keeps the state’s testing plan the same as the spring 2018 procedure, with the exception of the science test.
Tennessee’s plan has been to phasein online testing with the expectation being that students in all grades would take the test on an online platform next year.
Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said the state needed to take a step back from that plan.
“Ultimately we will only move forward if we have the proof points,” she said. “We are absolutely still phasing in online testing.”
The series of changes to improve the overall administration of TNReady after the sometimes tumultuous spring online testing season also brings into question which company will administer the test in future years.
Questar Assessment was contracted through this year, but after two years of issues, McQueen said the state will allow competition for who will oversee the 2019-20 school year test.
The state will put out a request for contract proposals in the fall, with a new vendor to be identified in the spring. Questar Assessment could again win the contract, but McQueen said who wins the proposal will have to show the ability and history of seamlessly administering an online test.
McQueen said after the last spring she shares in the frustration of teachers and students, but that it is important for Tennessee to move to online testing.
“Tennessee is one of less than 10 states who still has paper tests in lower grade levels,” McQueen said. “More than 40 have moved their state test online. Our economy requires students to operate in online systems. Colleges and jobs require it.”
Next year’s plan will look similar to the 2017-18 school year
Tennessee’s high school students will again be required to take the online portion of the TNReady test. Students in grades three through eight took a paper test unless their school opted into online testing.
That plan won’t change, McQueen said.
But next year, every student in grades five through eight will also be required to take the new TNReady science test. It’s the first year of the revised test and won’t count to student and teacher grades, she said.
“Science will allow us to test in an environment that is a bit more low risk,” she said.
Sara Gast, Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman, said about 200,000 more students will take the test online next year in this approach.
And despite problems in the fall, the state had one of its most successful years with online testing. More than 2.5 million TNReady tests were administered in the spring, with about 300,000 students taking the test online — half of all the state’s students, according to Gast.
The state’s superintendents support the plan
Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents executive director Dale Lynch endorsed the education department’s plan for next year.
He said the state’s superintendents support online testing because the logistics of paper testing is messy.
“We stand beside the department and the commissioner,” he said. “We want to move forward with an online assessment.
“We don’t want to move back to paper and pencil tests.”
Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said his district is pleased with the plan and that the state’s students and teachers deserve an online platform that works without interruptions.
“We believe online testing is how we need to move forward, and we have invested in our infrastructure to make sure we are ready on our end,” Thomas said.
Questar will get one more year to administer the test
The state will stick with Questar for one more testing season because McQueen said it is too soon to find another vendor.
The state offered the company a twoyear, $30-million per year contract in 2016 after the state fired its previous vendor, which was unable to deliver online testing.
Questar Assessment’s contract for the next year has been altered to require it meet certain benchmarks. It’s unclear what the contract extension will ultimately cost the state, but it is projected to be lower than the $30 million a year total, Gast said.
Under the contract, Questar will be required to meet certain performance indicators, ensure it is ready for the school year through a multistate stress test to identify problems, providing crisis-level resources throughout the testing window, a third party review and improved customer service, McQueen said.
It’s unclear who will oversee the test in the 2019-20 school year
McQueen said the bid process will allow the possibility of multiple companies overseeing the TNReady test.
“Many states have multiple vendors,” she said. “Our RFP (request for proposal) will ensure we can have multiple pieces.”
The proposal will also require the future vendor to have demonstrated success in administering online tests. She said the market for companies that administer online tests is small.
“We will look for a company with a track record of success in administering online testing and who can manage our test well,” she said.
The state has had several years of TNReady problems
The changes come after yet another tumultuous administration of TNReady in the spring 2018 testing window. Issues with the test have persisted in some form in the last three years.
In its first year, under a different testing vendor, the state needed to cancel spring online testing altogether. Last year, a small number of paper tests were incorrectly graded.
This year, online problems included an apparent cyber attack, connectivity issues and a dump truck that severed a fiber optics line.
The issues have caused distrust of the test from lawmakers, teachers and parents. Lawmakers earlier this year decided this year’s test can’t be used negatively against students, educators and schools. Erica Breunlin contributed. Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com.