NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s student assessment test has had more problems and state lawmakers are fuming.
State education officials announced on Tuesday that there appears to have been a deliberate attack of the computer system of the company that administers the online test. Education officials have stressed that no student data was compromised.
It is the latest issue with the TNReady test, which has been plagued with problems for the last few years, and one state lawmaker has vowed to make changes in the law before the General Assembly adjourns for the year.
Republican Rep. William Lamberth of Cottontown said he filed an amendment that would require the tests to be taken on paper. He said another amendment would make sure any of this year’s test scores would not count against teachers.
State Education Commissioner Candice McQueen sent this message to school directors:
“Testing has resumed, and Questar continues to take steps to prevent a repeat attack. Questar has blocked the source of the unusual traffic patterns, and they continue to implement ways to prevent a recurrence. We will be diligently monitoring.
To reiterate what we have shared earlier, there is absolutely no evidence that student data or information has been compromised. We believe the testing program performed as designed to mask and protect student information. Again, the software is designed to save students’ work, so if their testing session was disrupted, they can resume and submit their answers.
We want to continue to persevere with online testing, but we understand that this has presented challenges to scheduling and morale. We will share a further update on next steps for the testing window this afternoon.”