An investigation of the meltdown in the Tennessee computerized testing this past spring determined that there was no cyberattack, as the state education department originally claimed. Instead, the vendor made errors.
Questar’s unauthorized change of an online testing tool — not a possible cyber attack, as earlier reported by the company — was responsible for shutting down Tennessee’s computerized exams on their second day this spring, the state’s chief investigator reported Wednesday.
An independent probe determined that “there was no cyber attack,” nor was any student data compromised, when thousands of students could not log onto the online exam known as TNReady on April 17.
Instead, investigators said, Questar was mostly responsible for this year’s testing miscues. The main culprit was a combination of “bugs in the software” and the slowness of a computerized tool designed to let students turn text into speech if they need audible instructions.
Comptroller Justin P. Wilson reviewed early findings of his office’s internal review and the external investigation by a company hired by the Education Department during a legislative hearing in Nashville.
Education Commissioner Candice McQueen also told lawmakers that Tennessee is docking Questar about $2.5 million this year out of its $30 million contract because of the online problems that plagued many students and schools during the three-week testing window.
Payments being withheld are punitive, as well as to cover the state’s costs to address the problems, she said, adding that other discounts could follow.
Last week, McQueen announced that the state plans to launch a new search this fall for one or more testing companies to take over TNReady beginning in the 2019-20 school year. She said a track record of successful online testing is a must.
Will states ever figure out that online testing is less reliable than paper-and-pencil testing, and that teacher-made tests are more valuable than any standardized tests?
“Will states ever figure out that online testing is less reliable than paper-and-pencil testing, and that teacher-made tests are more valuable than any standardized tests?”
Not as long as the tech & testing industries own our elected officials.
Follow the money!
…to Swiss bank accounts
They’ll figure it out after they figure out that paper and pencil ballots are better…
I got called in to the “office” once as a veteran teacher, asking why my ELL kids scores were so low. Um… there was NO WAY their reading scores went down, I said…they read SO MUCH. Well, allegedly they did. Nope, I said… let me see…the reports. Bam. Somehow the testing company had scored all the scores as if every student was age 18. But I was a veteran teacher and I knew this had to be wrong… what if I didn’t have this experience? Jobs can be lost. Awful.
Another time, another school…high stakes testing servers CRASHED. I taught the lowest scoring kids,who were not going to stay motivated to wait around, give it their best shot…ALL.DAY.LONG. Yet, high stakes tests. Multiply this by many!
Cyberattack is what these companies always claim because they believe that gets them off the hook.
Of course, it doesnt because it simply means their security is not up to snuff.
But whatever the reason for the problems, one thing is clear: they should rename their state test “TNUnready”.
Questar… “glitches” “breaches” in Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, New York… are there more?
Utah is changing standardized tests for this next school year. The vendor? Questar. Yippee (sarcasm)!
Like incompetent superintendents, the incompetent test companies just get passed around from one sap to the next.
If Utah’s test shuts down like it has in Tennessee, that may be the end of the BS Test in Utah, as parents are getting REALLY tired of the 2 weeks of testing each child has at the end of the year.
In TN the BS response is that computer testing needs to be done because of federal law. No further details ever given.
Seriously, Questar in Utah after the TN disaster?
The Utah legislature is always on the lookout for snake oil.
Cold Fusion is a perfect example
New York uses Questar and has had many malfunctions with their tests. By the way, Pearson lurks Behind Questar. Questar hired their director from Pearson.
It’s turdles all the way down.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down
And no, that is not a misspelling.
A test that does not inform instruction. A $30 million contract for the test to nowhere, thirty million dollars! A testing company that makes unauthorized changes to the tests and only gets caught when the unauthorized software has bugs. Unhealthy doses of screen time. Wasted instruction time. Wasted school site funds spent on expensive testing paraphernalia. Real and very serious security and privacy concerns. Narrowed education. Demoralized students, parents, and teachers. Nothing good to speak of as a result.
Waste.
Fraud.
Abuse.
Stop the waste, fraud, and abuse. Stop annual testing. Restore the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
They could have spent the $30 million to give every teacher in TN an extra 1% raise.
“Education Commissioner Candice McQueen also told lawmakers that Tennessee is docking Questar about $2.5 million this year out of its $30 million contract ”
Why not get all the money back? Where is the penalty for a screwup of such magnitude? Why is McQueen still the commissioner when this is the second year of failed testing and she has chosen a testing company for next year which is related to Questar? When is she going to be held responsible for making terrible choices?
Btw, this is a perfectly good strategy: in the middle of the scandal, spread the news that the whole thing is not exactly Questar’s fault since there was a cyberattack. Then, in the middle of the summer, when nobody pays any more attention, disclose the truth everybody knew.
They probably could not get all of the money back even if they wanted to because some of it was undoubtedly kicked back to legislators and other state officials and is now in Swiss bank accounts.
McQueen should be asked this question: if you bought a flat-screen TV and it did’t work, would you ask for a partial refund?
“Re Quest our money back”
Questar ain’t a test star
Screwing up the test
Blames it on the hacker
As we could have guessed
Questar simply messed our
Schools with all their dreck
Public should request our
Money back from wreck
“TN(Un)ready”
TNready ain’t
“Ready”, as was claimed
Readiness was feigned
By it’s very name
Sometimes I am so proud of my state.