NASHVILLE – The newest vendor tasked with overseeing Tennessee’s student assessment test will cost the state roughly $93 million over the next five years.
Last month, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn announced the state intends to award the assessment contract to London-based testing company Pearson. But Schwinn and the department didn’t immediately release details about the contract – including how much it would cost.
According to records released Friday by the Department of General Services, Pearson’s application estimated it’ll cost $20.1 million to administer the test – known as TNReady – for the 2019-2020 school year. From there, the annual costs will lower, with the 2020-2021 school year costing $19.8 million and eventually $17.3 million by 2023-204.
The state is expected to finalize its contract negotiations with Pearson by Thursday. Pearson, a testing giant that has assessment contracts across the country, will be the third vendor to administer the test in five years.
Pearson will administer the first test using paper – typically a more expensive option, but generally safe from technical delays – and then transition to online testing by 2020-2021.