Some New York City school kids were locked out of their state exams on Wednesday as the testing system faced significant problems, sources said.
The city’s public schools were scheduled to administer annual state math tests in grades 3 through 8 during a two-week window from Tuesday through May 8, according to the testing calendar. But technical difficulties related to the state’s testing vendor, NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association), wreaked havoc on some students’ ability to sit for the tests.
The glitches were so disruptive that some schools decided to throw in the towel and delay the test to another day.
“We’re aware of the issues with the state testing platform today and assessing the impact to our schools,” said Nicole Brownstein, press secretary for the city’s schools. “We are in close communication with the New York State Education Department about next steps for schools and families.”
It was not immediately clear what caused the snags, when the issue would be resolved, or how many students were impacted. Spokespeople for NWEA did not immediately return a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the New York State Education Department said the problem impacted a “limited number” of test-takers in select school districts. Across the state, more than 116,000 students successfully tested this morning, though data on how many of those children were in the city was not readily available.
“The New York State Education Department (NYSED) appreciates the patience and resolve demonstrated by the students and school districts that experienced interruptions,” said JP O’Hare, the spokesman. “The issue appears to be impacting a limited number of users of the Grades 3-8 Computer-Based Testing System, across select schools and districts statewide.”
O’Hare said the department was in touch with their vendor to address the issue and advising impacted schools that they can pause testing on Wednesday or delay to another day within the testing window.
“NYSED is actively monitoring the situation to ensure sufficient support is provided to schools that may require it,” he said.
There are about 350,00 students in grades three through eight enrolled in the city’s education system, according to school enrollment data.
This academic term was the first year that all New York City test-takers were required to take computer-based exams. Students in the city’s traditional public schools took the English Language Arts state test earlier this month without incident, though some local charter schools scheduled to take the ELA exam on Wednesday were also impacted.
“Our students came to school ready,” said Emily Kim, founder and CEO of Zeta Charter Schools, whose students faced issues on the second day of their reading tests. “They were focused, prepared, and taking this moment seriously. Instead, they were met with repeated login failures, uncertainty, and disruption.”
The state tests are not the first exams to go digital. The SAT has moved online, and the specialized high school admissions test also recently made the pivot. But the growing embrace of computerized systems has sometimes meant fewer pencil-and-paper contingency plans when technology breaks down.
“We seem to be over reliant on tech in classrooms,” said Noah Odabashian, a Manhattan dad with a sixth grader scheduled to take the test next week, warning of the possibility for “widespread failures,” such as when city schools struggled to pivot to remote learning for a 2024 snow day.
“My daughter’s an athlete, and when you’re ready to compete is when you’re ready to compete,” he added. “It can be very destabilizing to be focused for a test or competition, then have the bottom fall out.”