Editor's Note: Below is updated information from the state's testing vendor, including schools that have been removed from the moderate-risk category after completing work with the vendor. Several districts or schools should not have been included on the original list as they have no students participating in online testing. These districts/schools are: Deborah Brown, Dove Science Academy Elementary School, Flower Mound, Santa Fe South Elementary School Charter, Stanley Hupfield, 

UPDATED: OSDE Works to Ensure Testing Issues Resolved

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 1, 2014) – The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) has been working closely with its testing vendors to ensure as many potential issues as possible are resolved before computer-based assessments are administered beginning next month.

“It’s important that our students have a stress-free testing experience this year,” State Superintendent Janet Barresi said. “I’m thankful for the effort of our school district staff in working with the vendors to ensure trouble-free assessments.”

Spring testing begins April 10.

Districts statewide participated in a multi-step process organized by the testing vendors to list, prep and stress test all devices they will be using for assessments. This readiness process will help avoid the technical problems some schools encountered last year.

OSDE’s vendors have almost completed the process of contacting every district that reported even a minor glitch and have been working to address any issues or concerns. OSDE employees have received regular updates and, in some cases, helped facilitate communications.

“While this process has successfully achieved its goal of identifying issues early enough to put preventative measures in place, factors outside the control of the state still come into play at many different levels. It is impossible to predict every circumstance,” Barresi said.

The readiness process with CTB/McGraw-Hill, the state’s current vendor for 3-8 Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests and End-of-Instruction assessments, involved three steps: A survey in which districts described their network infrastructure and computers at each school; a statewide technology stress test on Jan. 28; and feedback from districts on how the stress test went at their schools.

CTB reported more than 38,000 concurrent users at the highest peak of the Jan. 28 stress test, with about 3,000 disruptions. Some of those cases might not be system-related disruptions, but rather an error on the user’s end. 

Initially, only 12 districts did not complete any of the steps in the CTB readiness process. OSDE asked those districts to at least complete the technology survey — the first step. As of March 28, eight of those districts had responded to the department. Four districts had yet to do any steps at that time and remain at unknown risk. Those districts are: Beaver, Monroe, Ringling and South Coffeyville.

CTB classified districts as high-, moderate- or low-risk based on the results of the readiness process. It is working with every high- and moderate-risk district. 

All the currently remaining moderate-risk districts failed to complete at least one of the three steps of the readiness process and have not returned calls or emails by CTB to discuss their issues, if there were any.

These are the moderate-risk districts CTB reported as of Monday, March 31:

• Cottonwood
• Cyril
• Duke
• El Reno
• Glover
• Grandview
• Gypsy
• Harper Charter Academy
• Indiahoma
• Justice A.W. Seeworth
• Kildare
• Kipp Reach College Prep.
• Mannsville
• Moyers
• Oaks‐Mission
• Peckham
• Pleasant Grove
• Shady Point
• Spavinaw
• Straight
• Tannehill
• Vinita
• Waukomis
• Welch

Ninety-one districts were rated as high-risk at the beginning of March by CTB, and 81 districts were rated as moderate-risk. By March 31, CTB had taken care of all high-risk districts moving them to low risk and reduced the number of moderate-risk districts to 24. The process is ongoing. Any high-risk or unknown-risk districts that remain will be given paper assessments.

Of 542 districts and public charter schools, 518 (96 percent) were rated as low-risk on the morning of April 1, an improvement from 377 districts on March 4.

Updated reports from CTB are available to the public here: http://ok.gov/sde/assessment-technology

OSDE will continue to actively communicate with districts and respond to any concerns or potential issues throughout the assessment process.

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