dly, severely limited and chosen not to renew their contract, what are the next
at does it mean for the future of online test-taking in Tennessee?
WHAT’S NEXT
At the department’s insistence, a third-
party analysis will be conducted of Questar’s
technological capabilities. Regardless, the
state’s current contract is being amended to
improve assessment delivery in 2018-2019. Test
design and development is being transferred
to ETS, allowing Questar to focus solely on
delivery and reporting. With Questar serving
eight states with overlapping testing windows,
there are plans for the coordination of a multi-
state stress test.
ProEd Executive Director Dr. JC Bowman and
Dale Lynch from the Tennessee Organization
of School Superintendents were in attendance
at the announcement. Both praised the
Tennessee Department of Education for taking
proactive steps to address the issue. Bowman
added: “Leadership collects input from those
on the ground, makes the process better for
all, and then tweaks the product as needed.
We firmly believe that changes needed to be
made, and we are pleased that Commissioner
“Leadership collects input from
those on the ground, makes the
process better for all, and then
tweaks the product as needed. ”
At a press conference earlier
this month , Commissioner of
Education Candice McQueen
said that “improvements are
being made after ongoing
conversations with teachers,
parents, education leaders,
and policymakers over the
past several weeks and are aimed at addressing
a number of areas of concern.” She added:
“Teachers, students and families deserve a
testing process they can have confidence in,
and we are doing everything possible to meet
that responsibility.”
Additional changes include rebidding the
testing contract, revising the timeline for
online testing, and more teacher engagement.
These steps complement actions already in
the works, including eliminating two TNReady
end-of-course exams (Chemistry and English
III), eliminating the March stand-alone field
test for the next two years, simplifying and
streamlining test administration, improving
customer service, and engaging dozens
of additional Tennessee teachers, content
experts, and testing coordinators to look at
every part of our state testing program.
McQueen and her team heard our message
and made the necessary changes to improve
student assessment in Tennessee.”
Customer Service
The department will also be creating a new
position in-house that will be focused solely on
assessment user experience. This person will
coordinate with any outside testing vendors
and serve as a liason to Tennessee educators
in an effort to mitigate the frustration of
delayed customer service repsonse times
experienced in the past.
New Request for Proposals (RFP)
When the contract with Measurement, Inc
was cancelled, a new vendor was chosen
continued on page 24
HERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?