Gov. Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn are calling for the tests to be administered as usual but that the results not be used to judge the education system.
Haslam Administration Bets It Can Save TNReady Tests By Helping Districts Find Better Technology
Listen / Gov. Bill Haslam announced Wednesday a new program to provide school districts with cheaper options for obtaining laptops and tablets. The project aims to make teachers more comfortable with the TNReady exams and to keep the testing program running after Haslam leaves office.
2018 TNReady Scores Show Overall Decline With A Few Silver Linings
Listen / The 2018 TNReady test scores were released this week, and they show Tennessee students did slightly worse this year in most subjects, but not all.
TNReady Crash Was Caused By Testing Company, Not Cyberattack, Officials Conclude
Listen / It wasn’t a cyberattack that took down TNReady exams earlier this year but an error by the testing company. External investigators and the state comptroller made the conclusion after reviewing the crash that disrupted standardized tests statewide.
Tennessee Says Middle Schoolers Will Take Only One State Exam Online Next Year — Science
Listen / State officials are hedging their bets on next year’s TNReady testing. The Department of Education announced Thursday that they’ll be limiting online exams in the middle-school grades to just one subject — science — as part of a new plan to keep closer tabs on how computerized testing is going.
After TNReady Outages, Tennessee To Shift Some Responsibilities To Another Testing Firm
Listen / The state’s top educator is promising next year’s standardized testing will go more smoothly — and she’s making some changes to try to bring that about. Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said Monday that the state is planning to strip testing vendor Questar of some of its responsibilities, following widespread outages that led […]
To Understand TNReady’s Problems Today, Start With Education Decisions A Decade Ago
Listen / The problems with this year’s state assessment test have inspired widespread criticism, especially among Tennessee lawmakers. The 2018 version of TNReady has included an alleged cyberattack, a dump truck backing over a fiber-optic line and would-be test takers staring at blank screens. But history suggests the problem is partially a result of […]
Tennessee Lawmakers Adjourn After Resolving Impasse Over TNReady
Tennessee lawmakers wrapped up business Wednesday night, after an arduous final day at the state Capitol dominated by a standoff over TNReady and a dispute over a constitutional amendment. The House of Representatives and the state Senate spent most of the day locked in a bitter dispute over whether teachers are really going to be […]
Tennessee Lawmakers Vote To Protect Students, Teachers From Penalties After Latest TNReady Problems
Listen / Tennessee lawmakers have approved a measure meant to protect students, teachers and schools from being penalized for irregularities in this year’s TNReady test. Both chambers of the state legislature swiftly passed the legislation this afternoon, just days after a suspected cyberattack caused computerized tests to shut down.
In Testimony, State Education Officials Have Few Answers About Suspected Testing Cyberattack
Listen / Tennessee education officials got a grilling Wednesday from state lawmakers about the suspected cyberattack that shut down standardized testing earlier this week. But officials say they’re not sure who would have tried to hack the TNReady tests — or why.
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