Not Ready at All

It turns out TNReady wasn’t ready at all. From a technological failure on day one to a shipping delay in March to all out chaos in April, the transition to the new test has been, in the words of one Director of Schools, an “unmitigated disaster.”

As of today, in the face of yet another delay, the Tennessee Department of Education has terminated the contract with Measurement, Inc. and suspended further testing in grades 3-8 for this year.

Here’s the full press release from the Department of Education:

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced today the department will terminate its statewide testing contract with Measurement Inc., effective immediately. While high school testing will continue as planned, the state will suspend grade 3-8 testing during the 2015-16 school year due to Measurement Inc.’s inability to
deliver all testing materials.
After revising their shipping schedule for a third time this month, the state’s testing vendor, Measurement Inc., failed to meet its most recent deadline. As of this morning, all districts were still waiting on some grade 3-8 materials to arrive with a total of two million documents yet to be shipped. In February, the department was forced to move from the originally planned online assessment delivery to a paper-based format due to the failure of the vendor’s online platform.
“Measurement Inc.’s performance is deeply disappointing. We’ve exhausted every option in problem solving with this vendor to assist them in getting these tests delivered,” Commissioner Candice McQueen said. “Districts have exceeded their responsibility and obligation to wait for grade 3-8 materials, and we will not ask districts to continue waiting on a vendor that has repeatedly failed us.”
If districts have received materials for a complete grade or subject in grades 3-8 (i.e. fifth-grade math), they will have the option to administer that specific grade or subject level; however, the department will only be able to deliver limited student performance information for these particular grades and subjects. High school tests will be fully scored, and these results will be delivered later this fall.
“Challenges with this test vendor have not diverted us from our goals as a state. Tennessee has made historic and tremendous growth over the past several years. Higher standards and increased accountability have been a key part of this progress,” Commissioner McQueen said. “Our work toward an aligned assessment plays a critical role in ensuring that all students are continuing to meet our high expectations and are making progress on their path to postsecondary
and the workforce.”
Flexibility that has already been provided for teacher evaluation through recent legislation will remain. If a teacher has TNReady data, in this case high school teachers, TNReady data will only be used if it helps the teacher. If a teacher does not have TNReady data, their evaluation will rely on data from prior years.
The department is currently working with the state’s Central Procurement Office to expedite the selection of a vendor
for both the scoring of this year’s high school assessment and the development of next year’s test.  The department has also been in close contact with the United States Department of Education to ensure that Tennessee is in compliance with federal requirements and will continue to work with them on this issue.
TNReady, the state’s new assessment in math and English language arts in grades 3-11, was designed to be administered in two parts. Part I was given in late February and early March, and Part II was scheduled to begin on April 25.
Additional resources can be found in this frequently asked questions document:
https://tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/tnready_faq_suspension.pdf.

MORE on Measurement, Inc.:

Replacing TCAP

TNReady Already?

Ready to Grade?

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

Still Not F*&#ing Ready

TNReady Phase II is supposed to be starting, except it won’t. It seems that shipping delays will prevent at least eight school districts from starting the planned administration of Phase II next week.

In Sumner County, emails have gone out confirming the delay and a new planned start date of May 2nd.

Officials in seven other districts have confirmed they have yet to receive the testing materials.

This comes after a disastrous first day of TNReady testing back in February and subsequent shipping delays of Phase 1 paper materials.

It also comes after the Murfreesboro City School Board discussed refusing to administer Phase II and the Tullahoma City Schools considered a resolution calling on the state to stop any further testing this year.

From the start, the transition to TNReady has been bungled. While Commissioner McQueen continues to make excuses, blame the vendor, and promise a better outcome next time, students in Tennessee schools face disrupted schedules and loss of learning time.

Instead of issuing threats to districts, perhaps the Department of Education should have been developing solutions or simply responding to the frustrations of students, parents, and teachers across the state. Maybe stopping after Phase I would have allowed for a true course correction.

In any case, we’re still not TNReady.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport