Many children across New York couldn’t take the annual state English exams Wednesday because technical glitches blocked some schools from testing on computers.
Schools have several days to administer the tests so they can reschedule, but the problem added stress and inconvenience at a time when anxiety runs high for some families and teachers.
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Many children across New York couldn’t take the annual state English exams Wednesday because technical glitches blocked some schools from testing on computers.
Schools have several days to administer the tests so they can reschedule, but the problem added stress and inconvenience at a time when anxiety runs high for some families and teachers.
This week marks the first widespread rollout of computer-based testing for New York’s exams for grades three through eight in English-language arts and math.
State officials said Questar Assessment Inc., the test vendor, were delayed in delivering the tests electronically to some students in the morning, but it was unclear how many were affected. District leaders said some students who started testing had trouble submitting answers.
The problem didn’t affect New York City, where pupils tackled tests with paper and pencil. More than 600 schools outside the city were expected to test by computers.
Many states have faced technical problems when they switched to online testing.
“I was disappointed but not surprised that there were testing issues today,” said Chris Brown, superintendent of West Genesee Central School District, in Onondaga County. “It inconveniences about 1,260 of our students today but hopefully the system is working tomorrow.”
Emily DeSantis, a spokeswoman for the State Education Department, said some students in certain grades at 263 districts experienced delays, and more than 49,900 pupils completed computer-based tests on Wednesday.
“Questar resolved the matter as quickly as possible, with delay times varying,” she said by email.
A spokesman for Questar, based in Minnesota, didn’t respond to calls for comment. The company has a roughly $44 million, five-year contract with New York to develop computer-based exams and paper tests.
New York State United Teachers, which has questioned the accuracy of state testing and expressed concerns about potential data breaches in computer-based exams, was quick to criticize the rollout.
“Today’s disastrous foray into computer testing left children frustrated and teachers angry that their warnings were ignored,” the union’s executive vice president, Jolene DiBrango, said in a news release. “If SED [State Education Department] wants to restore the trust and confidence of parents in its testing system, this isn’t the way to do it.”