{"id":11190,"date":"2016-04-27T22:07:53","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T03:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=11190"},"modified":"2016-04-27T22:07:53","modified_gmt":"2016-04-28T03:07:53","slug":"tennessee-department-of-education-suspends-grade-3-8-testing-due-to-vendors-inability-to-deliver-materials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2016\/04\/27\/tennessee-department-of-education-suspends-grade-3-8-testing-due-to-vendors-inability-to-deliver-materials\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Department of Education Suspends Grade 3-8 Testing Due to Vendor\u2019s Inability to Deliver Materials"},"content":{"rendered":"

Statewide Assessment Contract Terminated<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"TennesseeNashville, TN<\/strong> – Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced today the department will terminate its statewide testing contract with Measurement Inc., effective immediately.<\/p>\n

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.\u2019s inability to deliver all testing materials.<\/p>\n

\"3-8<\/a>

3-8 grade testing suspended for the 2015-16 school year.<\/p><\/div>\n

After revising their shipping schedule for a third time this month, the state\u2019s testing vendor, Measurement Inc., failed to meet its most recent deadline.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s online platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeasurement Inc.\u2019s performance is deeply disappointing. We\u2019ve exhausted every option in problem solving with this vendor to assist them in getting these tests delivered,\u201d Commissioner Candice McQueen said. \u201cDistricts 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cChallenges 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,\u201d Commissioner McQueen said. \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The department is currently working with the state\u2019s Central Procurement Office to expedite the selection of a vendor for both the scoring of this year\u2019s high school assessment and the development of next year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

TNReady, the state\u2019s 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 25th.<\/p>\n