In response to another year of problematic testing across the state, Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced Thursday the state will start looking for a possible new testing vendor for TNReady.
Releasing a new request for proposals for testing vendors was one of several changes announced. The department and McQueen have been under fire from lawmakers after a string of issues in April led to the state announcing this year’s testing would yield questionable data.
Lawmakers passed a hurried bill in April to ensure teachers would not be negatively affected by the fiasco and test scores, which were more than likely affected by technology issues, a severed fiber optic cable and a plethora of other problems during the testing window in April.
“Teachers, students and families deserve a testing process they can have confidence in, and we are doing everything possible to meet that responsibility,” McQueen said in a statement. “We are always committed to listening and improving, and we’ll continue to do just that.”
The state also will amend its current contract with Questar in an effort to improve the assessment process for the 2018-2019 year, which Questar will still conduct. If a new vendor is chosen after the state’s proposal request this fall, the contract will begin with the 2019-2020 school year.