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Escambia schools suspend state testing

March 3, 2015
/ Reggie Dogan
/ community-dashboard

Escambia County is among several school districts across the state that suspended the state’s new standardized writing test because of glitches in the computer system. Schools reported that students had problems logging online testing system and other computer-related issues that prevented, delayed or prolonged the time students needed to take the new Florida Standards Assessments, or FSA. Santa Rosa County School District also had some difficulties that delayed online access on Monday, but the problems weren’t bad enough to suspend testing on Tuesday, said schools superintendent Tim Wyrosdick. “They eventually work out and we were able to test all students,” he said. Wyrosdick’s theory for fewer problems at Santa Rosa schools was related to school start times. In Santa Rosa, high schools start later than most others in the state. He believes that the schools that started earlier became frustrated with the problems and shut down testing, which left the Internet open to Santa Rosa schools. “We had more issues Monday than Tuesday,” Wyrosdick said. “That concerns me greatly.” The FSA is a series of exams in math, reading and writing that this year replaces most of the also controversial Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, commonly called the FCAT. Students in grades four through 10 began taking the writing part of the test on Monday. The tests are scheduled to run through Thursday, mostly online with some done on paper. Several superintendents last month voiced their concerns to the state Department of Education that schools weren’t able to handle a heavy load of computer-based testing. Their worries became a reality on Monday when the FSA’s arrival was less than stellar. Some school districts canceled testing altogether and others reported that they managed to log into the state system after several attempts and glitches. According to the Florida News Service, at least 35 of 67 school districts reported problems, and not all tried to test students Monday, said Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, also the executive director of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. "I am disappointed but not surprised,” Montford said. “We have been concerned about this for two years." The computer problems surrounding the FSA comes on the heels of Gov. Scott last month suspending the tests for English language arts until the legislature has a chance to consider eliminating the mandate. The elimination of the test followed an investigation conducted by Commissioner Pam Stewart that recommended a reduction in the number of tests Florida students in public schools are required to take. Gov. Scott said at the time that there was too much testing taking place in Florida schools at the expense of teachers teaching and students learning. Starting on March 23 through May 8, students in grades three through 10 will take an English language arts test, and students in grade 3 through 8 will be given a math test. The real test come on April 13, when millions of students across the state will take the Florida Standards Assessment, Wyrosdick said. “We got some work to do to build some confidence in the assessment,” Wyrodick said.

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Escambia schools suspend state testing

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