Computer System Glitches as Florida Students Take New Standardized Test
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
By: Nicole Creston

May 17, 2011 | WMFE - Thousands of students across Florida were hampered by a computer glitch Tuesday morning as they tried to take a new statewide standardized test.

Florida middle and high school students taking a computerized Algebra 1 test received error messages on their screens when they tried to either begin or submit their tests to a national server.

The server went down at about 9:30 a.m., touching off confusion and concern from students and test proctors statewide, according to school officials. The system came back online about 3 hours later.  

Lee Baldwin heads up testing for Orange County schools. He says it doesn’t look like any tests were lost in the glitch.

“As the system went down, it automatically saved, much as a Word document will save,” he says. “And then, once the system came back up, it was restored. So, as far as we can tell today, there were no students [whose] scores were not accepted.”

This week is the rollout for these new standardized tests, called “end-of-course” exams. Statewide, all Algebra 1 public school students are required to pass this subject-specific test in order to graduate. Over the next few years, end-of-course exams will also be implemented in other subjects.   

Baldwin acknowledges the glitch was a disruption for students, even though the tests are likely safe.

“When we provide a system like this where kids or anyone is going to be taking a test, and it’s in kind of a high-stakes environment, obviously there’s going to be anxiety,” says Baldwin. “You want everything to work perfectly for that testing situation, and this certainly wasn’t an example of things working perfectly. So, it was a disruption – I don’t think there’s any question about that – and we certainly hope it doesn’t happen again.” 

The testing company, Pearson, is the same one that was late getting FCAT results to Florida’s schools last year.  The company paid a $15 million fine for missing its deadline and promised to improve performance.

Baldwin says other than Tuesday’s glitch, this week’s testing has gone smoothly.