Dive Brief:
- Minnesota schools will resume testing now that Pearson has addressed computer glitches that interrupted testing last week and early this week.
- The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments were placed on hold Tuesday because students were unable to log into the Pearson system, and testing last week saw disruptions due to the failure of a computer server and difficulties dealing with heavy student traffic.
- The $38 million contract with Pearson follows technical difficulties with digital exams from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) last year.
Dive Insight:
One fear — not just in Minnesota, but in the numerous states facing online testing issues — is that glitches will frustrate students and lead to lower scores when they're finally able to take a test that works. You know that feeling when you walk in for a big exam all prepared and sort of jittery? Well, what happens when you're sitting at a slow computer for 30 minutes (or more) waiting to see if it will work? Slowly, your focus shifts from the test to the problem.
Perhaps students joke around with each other about the ridiculousness of it all. If they get more restless, it doesn't make for a very good testing environment — which is especially worth considering when so much riding on the results.
