The Tennessee Department of Education has announced changes to the TNReady testing which include returning to paper and pencil testing for grades 3-8 with the exception of a science field test.
According to a release issued Thursday (6.14.18), Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said several steps are being taken to improve the state’s TNReady student assessment, including recompeting the state’s current testing vendor contract. These improvements are being made after ongoing conversations with teachers, parents, education leaders and policy-makers over the past several weeks and are aimed at addressing a number of areas of concern.
The Lakeland School System (LSS) noted all testing in grades 3-8 (with the exception of a science field test) will be completed with paper and pencil in 2018-19.
Kevin Floyd, chair of the Lakeland School Board, commented on the news about paper and pencil testing. “This doesn’t surprise me at all. It is astounding that around 40 states have successfully implemented an online assessment, and our state’s efforts to do the same are disastrous.”
From Dr. Ted Horrell, superintendent of the Lakeland School System, “While online testing is something we should be able to accomplish as a state and should continue to be a goal, I think reverting to paper and pencil until the state can build confidence in their testing program is the right move for 2018-19.“
This spring, TNReady testing in Lakeland and other school systems was halted because of statewide failure of the Tennessee online platform. It impacted LMPS (Lakeland Middle Preparatory School) because students were testing with the online platform. LES (Lakeland Elementary School) students took their TNReady tests using paper and pencil and were not impacted by the snafus.
Dr. Horrell was in Nashville during the testing problems and spoke on behalf of superintendents across the state about problems with TNReady testing in 2018. He spoke at the Government Operations and Joint House Education Committee meeting.
Mr. Floyd wrote a letter to the Tennessee Education Commissioner and Governor about his frustration and disappointment with the situation.
Link to the state press release: https://www.tn.gov/education/news/2018/6/14/education-department-announces-tnready-changes–will-recompete-testing-contract.html
From the release:
- Students in grades 3-8 will take TNReady on paper for math, English and social studies.
- Students in grades 3-4 will take their TNReady science test on paper,
- Students in grades 5-8 will take their science test online. Science is a field test in 2018-19 because the state is transitioning to new academic standards; therefore, the results will not count for students, teachers, or schools, nor will any public scores be released. This provides an option for all students to experience the online platform and do so in an environment that is low-risk for them.
- Students in high school and those taking end-of-course exams will continue to test online.
