A reader submits the following comment. He or she might
also have noted the computer failures of testing companies this
past spring, for example, in Indiana and Oklahoma. The reader says:
Pearson has a pattern of poor performance nationwide, stretching
back for more than a decade. For example, A. In 2002, a computer
glitch caused malfunctions in some online math tests and Pearson
incorrectly failed nearly 8,000 Minnesota students on a test that
was required for high school graduation. Pearson agreed to pay up
to $7 million in damages for that problem. B. In 2007, a Minnesota
online statewide math test was shut down after the program
malfunctioned for 25% of the districts that were using it. C. In
2010, the results from online science tests taken by 180,000
students in grades 5 to 8 were delayed due to scoring errors. D. In
2005, in Virginia computerized tests were misgraded. E. In
2009-2010, Wyoming’s new computer testing program failed and the
state demanded that Pearson repay $9.5 million for “complete
default of the contract.” F. In 2011, according to the Tampa Bay
Times, students taking Florida’s new computerized algebra final
exam could not submit finished tests because Pearson’s servers were
down. For more details see
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/enough-is-enough-pearson-_b_3146434.html
These online testing problems are not confined to Pearson. There
has been a concerning pattern across states over a number of years
with several testing companies in addition to Pearson. See
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/04/severe-technical-problems-raise-concerns-over-online-tests/
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Computer testing issues/costs may end up being the straw that breaks the CCamelSS back. That is if the lawyers don’t get there first.
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Do they plan to do the SAT on computer? Computer tests are bad. Too much electronic interference jamming the brain.
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I just love the way that it is considered “normal” for computers to have “glitches” but they pay their penalties and go on. If a teacher has a “glitch” … she/he is “gone”.
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If Pearson were manufacturing medical devices, they would be out of business as a result of the lawsuits. One of the problems we have is that the testing companies are given a special place in law and then protected by the courts against the liability they should face.
The Minnesota case a decade ago was the one I followed most. Many of the kids who “failed” had their lives changed radically, since they were unable to get into post-high school situations because of their “failures.” The clock keeps ticking despite the criminal negligence of Pearson (and the other companies) and until we change both the state laws when these contracts are awarded and the way in which the courts treat testing companies, we still keep “losing” no matter how many people they injure.
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…but we will have rigor and accountability based on their results:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/florida-needs-to-continue-with-common-core-some-summit-participants-say/2138648
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I just found out today that Pearson will be “assessing” prospective teachers in GA.
My poor student teacher.
Interesting article on Pearson and the TPA
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/pearson-education-new-york-testing-_b_1850169.html
From the article:
The question that must addressed is whether the British publishing giant Pearson and its Pearson Education subsidy should determine who is qualified to teach and what should be taught in New York State and the United States? I don’t think so! Not only did no one elect them, but when people learn who they are, they might not want them anywhere near a school — or a government official.
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On the Utah state writing test two years ago, my then-5th-grade son had to write the entire thing TWICE, as did many of his classmates, because the server went down. It’s a 90 minute test. My son was so stressed out that he was sobbing. We opted him out of the 6th grade tests this year.
However, I have just learned that under Utah’s “wonderful” new state grading system, any school that doesn’t have 95% of students take the tests AUTOMATICALLY fails. I don’t know now if I should opt my boys out now because I don’t want their schools to fail.
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These online tests will cost our small school district approximately 2 million dollars for computers and bandwidth. What programs will have to be cut to pay for this? Arts? Athletics? IB? By the way, IB has been successfully preparing students for college for over 40 years. It is a sad irony that we may be forced to eliminate a program with a forty year track record in order to implement online standardized tests for which there is no evidence whatsoever of a correlation between student scores and college readiness.
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