To CTB: We’ll Deal with You Later

This afternoon, the SDE sent the following message to districts:

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 30, 2013) – The Oklahoma State Department of Education experienced complications with online assessments for grades 6 through 12 throughout the school day on Monday and for the better part of Tuesday. Testing Company CTB/McGraw Hill reported problems with their servers while uploading student assessment results. Students were reportedly knocked off the system mid-assessment. State Superintendent Janet Barresi said, “This is completely unacceptable. We are outraged that our school districts are not able to administer assessments in a smooth and efficient manner. This is especially disruptive for the children who have worked hard all year and now have the opportunity to let us know what they have achieved. To be interrupted during testing is a very difficult and stressful environment for our children and educators.” “We are working closely with the testing company to remedy the situation. Once that is done, we will have discussions about how to proceed with accommodations for the districts and how to proceed with CTB,” Barresi said. According to the State Department’s Assistant Superintendent of Assessment and Accountability, Dr. Maridyth McBee, the state is working closely with the testing company to find solutions that could alleviate the burden of students retaking the full tests. “Right now we are evaluating several good ideas from district superintendents and SDE staff for how best to accommodate school districts,” McBee said. “Once we are up and running again and can determine the full impact of this, we will finalize plans for expanding the testing window and any other accommodations deemed appropriate.” The problem with CTB McGraw Hill affected other states. Other testing vendors have experienced similar problems.

Since I posted the message from the Indiana state superintendent earlier, I thought it would only be fair to post this as well. A stern talking to does nothing to change the fact that, as I put it earlier, this year’s data is completely poisoned. I want CTB fired. As a taxpayer, I want our money back.

I also received a message from a reader earlier saying that I let the SDE off the hook too easy during my lunchtime post. I agree with that, and I’ll address that in a separate post, either later tonight or tomorrow morning.