URGENT: Disable Chrome OS Updates on Testing Devices

To: District Assessment Coordinators, EL Assessment Coordinators, Technology Coordinators, and Principals 

DRC has identified an important issue with the February 11 release of the Chrome 80 operating system (OS) for Chromebooks and Chromeboxes needing your urgent attention. Chrome OS 80 will block users from accessing assessments through the INSIGHT Secure Browser. 

Until a resolution to this issue has been identified and implemented, DRC advises schools to immediately disable automatic operating system updates on Chromebooks and Chromeboxes or cap updates at 79. This ensures that Chromebooks and Chromeboxes cannot update to version 80 of Chrome OS, which is expected to be released in the coming week. Chromebooks and Chromeboxes that update to Chrome 80 before a resolution has been implemented will not be able to be used for statewide testing, including the current WIDA ACCESS for ELLs assessment. 

DRC’s development teams are working with Google to identify and resolve the issue as soon as possible. We expect the issue to be resolved before M-STEP testing but not before Chrome OS 80 is released. MDE and/or DRC will notify you by email when this is resolved or if any further action is needed on your part that INSIGHT auto-updates will not handle. 

MDE and DRC recommend disabling auto-updates during testing to avoid unforeseen problems like this with a new release, or to avoid having computers update and reboot mid-test.