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Schools Experience State Testing Problems; Escambia Suspends Tuesday Tests
March 3, 2015
Students in Escambia County and across the state had problems logging on to the state’s new online-testing platform, raising questions about the testing system as lawmakers consider an overhaul.
Education groups and media reports said students had problems taking the new Florida Standards Assessments in a variety of districts, including Escambia, while other schools or districts had fewer problems. At Northview High School, for instance, all students scheduled for testing on Monday were able to complete their assessments.
Due to the problems at the state level, Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said Escambia County was suspending all computer-based state testing for Tuesday, with a plan to resume testing on Wednesday.
State Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who doubles as chief executive officer of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, said his organization sent a survey to districts about 9 a.m. Monday. By about 3 p.m., 30 had responded, with more than 20 reporting problems.
“Maybe the other 37 have had a perfect day. I doubt it,” Montford said.
Joanne McCall, vice president of the Florida Education Association, said reports of problems were coming from “all over,” but the union didn’t yet know exactly how widespread they were.
“This is our biggest fear coming true,” McCall said. ” … For us, it’s a false start for students.”
A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education said Commissioner Pam Stewart was working on the problem.
“While many students across our state are testing successfully, we have heard from some districts that are experiencing difficulties,” spokeswoman Meghan Collins wrote in an email Monday afternoon. “This is a 90-minute test; students have a two-week window, plus a makeup window, to complete the test. Commissioner Stewart is looking into any reported issues to determine the cause and will work to immediately resolve it.”
But Montford said that’s not good enough. He said students were prepared to take the test Monday, and districts made preparations to administer the exams.
“This is a high-stakes assessment with the future of these students riding on it,” said Montford, a former Leon County superintendent.
The snafus came as the Legislature is considering whether to overhaul the state’s testing plan, which some parents and educators argue has become too overbearing.
Critics of the tests say the early problems simply back up their arguments.
“Today’s fiasco once again demonstrates that Florida testing policy is being driven by politicians and ideologues, not educators,” said Bob Schaeffer, a Florida resident and public education director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, an organization critical of high-stakes testing. “Florida schools and the children they serve need a pause in testing insanity and a thorough overhaul of the state’s assessment system. Enough is enough.”
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Comments
9 Responses to “Schools Experience State Testing Problems; Escambia Suspends Tuesday Tests”
Anything on which you depend is a thing which needs to be dependable.
Many things are not.
David for dependable tests, test results and legislators
As a former teacher and volunteer lobbyist in Tallahassee I encountered a group of law makers who were Anti-Public Education and strong proponents of Private and Charter schools.These were the creators of the many tests that our students are having to take today..Once the motive for testing turned into diverting public dollars for private institutions,the rational and purpose for taking all these questionable tests became skewed toward making public schools look incompetent and failing at the expense of our children..As the saying goes…FOLLOW THE MONEY!!!
@ DOER….Absolutely correct these computer PROBLEMS are all at the State Level and not the result of anything our school district has caused.
@ Over Testing…Yep, and when will teachers be able to teach and the kids learn? The computer labs, in-class computers and not just the computers are tied up with attempts at testing but the physical classroom spaces are also locked into being dedicated for testing.
Are we testing so much that there’s no educational exploration happening?
we need to go back to paper and pencil… I MISS FCAT!
Another note:
At Northview High School, there was at least one major problem. It took one teacher 45 minutes to log onto the site. The screen kept reading “error.” Therefore, students just sat there to wait to take the test. This was a state overload, not her error.
Yes, there is a two week window given by the state to take the FSA Writing test. HOWEVER, next week high schools are PERT testing, FAIR testing and SAE testing (for block semester classes)… which are all computer based also. The posted testing calendar shows high schools are computer based testing EVERY day until the end of the year. There is not time for constant rescheduling of testing.
Students are scheduled to start taking computer based End of Course exams on April 27th. That is after they have been out of class repeatedly to take the FSA Writing, PERT, FAIR, FCAT Retakes, FSA Reading….. AND a month before the end of the school year. How do you take and End of Course exam a month before the class is over?
Back to paper and pencil. Take Subject Area Exams and End of Course exams during regular exam schedule the last week of school. Makes sense to me… and those #2 pencils don’t have technical difficulties.
Thank You to the Mr. Bush clan for their
No Child Left Behind Act (all kids on grade level by 2013 no matter their disability)
Charter Schools
National testing….call it what you wish but that is what FCAT is part of.
School Grades
Teacher Evaluations based on the one test kids take.
Preparation for testing + Testing = loss of real opportunity for Teaching & Learning.
State / Federal education mandates without funding to pay for them.
If it comes knocking from the State Legislature or Federal Govt and addresses Education then do not open the door.
@ Momma & DOER….You are exactly on target.
This is the most ridiculous situation ever. What is the purpose of taking this test online? Students and schools receive their results no earlier whatsoever, so really. What is the point? Let me guess. Districts were conveniently pushed to buy in to the idea, and now, just like the healthcare plan, they must use something they really didn’t even research or think through. After all, the money has been spent, so we don’t want to have to backtrack.
The problem is that while all of this computer-testing is going on, there is a two-week period for students to finish this one particular test (including make-ups). That means many computer labs and/or classrooms (including the media center) will be out of commission for the students’ access. People have no idea what is going on in public education as far as testing.
The stakes are very high on these tests. This year, the schools will get a reprieve of their grades, but the students and teachers will not. None of this is fair, but as usual, the powers that be jump in head first without thinking things through.
We should just go back to the old fashioned no. 2 pencil and paper California Achievement Test. And one test should never determine success over the proof of a child’s grades over the course of a year. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!