Testing Problems Galore Nationwide

 Update 4/1: more than a dozen states are also having testing problems.  From KSL.com:

Standardizing testing is on hold in more than a dozen states because of Internet problems at the University of Kansas where the test developer is based.

Issues arose Tuesday when a backhoe severed a major fiber cable. Testing was canceled for the rest of the day before resuming Wednesday but was again suspended Thursday afternoon because of service disruptions. After students again experienced problems Friday morning, the testing suspension was resumed.

Marianne Perie, the center's director, said the suspension is causing "huge problems," especially for larger districts.

"They have very specific schedules about which students can go in which lab at which time and this outage has really messed up their schedule," she said.
end of update.

 It has nothing to do with opt-outs, either.

From RHS' principal, Brian Vance:

10th Grade Families-
Our SBA saga continues.  We had all of the students show up today who had not completed their testing, only to find out that there was still a percentage of students whose tests were still not working.  

We have been working with the district and with OSPI to troubleshoot the problems.  

So, we are going to take another break from testing on Friday to see if we can get everything resolved.  I will send out another email on Friday to let you know how to proceed on Monday.  

 It looks like we have about 90 students left to test.  

Big thanks to your students for their flexibility and determination.  Hopefully we will get everything resolved and the remaining students can finish on Monday.  I will send something out tomorrow to confirm our plan for Monday. 
Thank You,
Brian Vance, Principal

As well, it appears that the Student Assignment page was live for a period yesterday (this from a couple of parents.  It appears now that the page has gone dead.

According to the website, the assignments come out mid-April.

Comments

Catherine said…
Is my math right: a one day test, is now at 4 days and counting of classroom disruption? Because those 90 kids... are again going to have to miss class. And the rest of their classes will be disrupted. And their teachers forced to do overtime to get those 90 caught up...

At least Paper and Pencil bubble tests don't crash....
3/31/16, 9:27 PM
Ms206 said…
I totally agree. I teach in Philadelphia and PSSA testing is done with paper and pencil. I do not teach a class that takes the PSSAS, but I know enough about them anyhow. There are just so many possible issues from computers not working to Internet outages and bandwidth concerns, as well as potential issues with mice and keyboards. It is more foolproof to use paper and pencil. Plus, paper and pencil is going to be necessary anyway for students to show their work, especially in math and science. As the saying goes, keep it simple, stupid.
4/5/16, 3:22 PM
Ms206 said…
I totally agree. I teach in Philadelphia and PSSA testing is done with paper and pencil. I do not teach a class that takes the PSSAS, but I know enough about them anyhow. There are just so many possible issues from computers not working to Internet outages and bandwidth concerns, as well as potential issues with mice and keyboards. It is more foolproof to use paper and pencil. Plus, paper and pencil is going to be necessary anyway for students to show their work, especially in math and science. As the saying goes, keep it simple, stupid.
4/5/16, 3:22 PM
Verify Customer Identity said…
In recent years, id verification service is much greater in requirement. There are plenty of id verification methods that someone can acquire on a reliable site called Trust Swiftly, and a corporation can implement the methods to safe their own ecommerce site handily. By checking out this amazing TRUST SWIFTLY internet site, you can acquire more information regarding id verification service.
1/7/21, 2:44 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, grief, that is to come fro
Read more

MEETING CANCELED - Hey Kids, A Meeting with Three(!) Seattle Schools Board Directors

 Update 2: So I have seen a message from President Liza Rankin on why she, Director Evan Briggs, and Director Michelle Sarju backed out of this meeting.  In a nutshell: - She says there was no organization to the meeting which is just not true. They had a moderator lined up and naturally the board members could have set parameters for what to discuss, length of meeting, etc. All that was fleshed out. - She also claimed that if the meeting was PTA sponsored, they needed to have liability insurance to use the school space. Hello? PTAs use school space all the time and know they have to have this insurance.  - She seems to be worried about the Open Public Meetings law. Look, if she has a meeting in a school building on a non-personnel topic, it should be an open meeting. It appears that Rankin is trying, over and over, to narrow the window of access that parents have to Board members. She even says in her message - "...with decisions made in public." Hmmm - She also says that th
Read more