The Florida Department of Education may have fined the company responsible for the glitch-ridden Florida Standards Assessment, but critics say the fine won’t solve the underlying problems of the assessment test.
Earlier this month, the FDOE fined American Institutes for Research (AIR) nearly $5 million because of problems with the FSA which left many students unable to complete the test or log into the computerized test at all.
AIR must reimburse Florida for the damages suffered as a result of the faulty testing, or it will lose payments totaling $4.8 million. The Washington, D.C.-based testing company has large, $220 million six year contract with Florida to administer the annual test.
AIR said it was “pleased” to have reached a “positive resolution” with the department.
Critics, however, say that fine isn’t big enough to address the scope of the problems with the assessment test.
Florida Parents Against Common Core, a statewide anti-Common Core group, called the fine “inconsequential,” saying it pales in comparison to other companies who have been whacked to make reparations for testing errors.
“What is that, [a two percent] fine?” the group asked, calling the fine “egregiously inappropriate.”
“That’s just a really token slap on the wrist in my view,” said Florida Stop Common Core Coalition executive director Karen Effrem.
This wasn’t the first time a test created by AIR has had issues. In Minnesota, students had similar problems with the AIR-associated test. Around 15,000 students experienced testing problems over two days in April 2013, causing the Minnesota Department of Education to sever ties with the company.
“AIR’s problems are just enormous,” Effrem, a former Minnesota resident, told Sunshine State News. “AIR is one of the worst [testing vendors.]”
Florida moved onward with AIR in spite of the issues, and rolled out the FSA in 2015.
Tensions were already running high to begin the new test, which was the first standardized test aligned with Florida’s new Common Core-related Florida Standards.
Catastrophe struck when students couldn’t finish the test. Screens went blank, and other students were unable to log in at all. School districts paused testing temporarily, while some suspended testing for days until they were certain the testing problems had been resolved.
A month later, a cyber attack disrupted testing once again, causing grave concern among parents and educators administering the test.
This year’s testing run went much smoother, with virtually no problems with the FSA and 3 million students completing the computer-based tests.
Florida isn’t the only state to have testing issues. Other states have hit testing companies with much larger fines for glitches similar to the ones Florida experienced.
Last week, the Texas Education Agency penalized the New Jersey-based Educational Testing Services (the company that develops and administers Texas’ STAAR tests) for nearly $21 million for similar testing issues. ETS has a $280 million testing contract with the state, just $60 million more than Florida’s. The total fine equals nearly eight percent of the testing contract.
The FDOE promised schools, students and teachers it would hold AIR accountable for the issues, but any sort of follow-up had yet to come to fruition. The reason, the department said, was because it wanted to make sure the test was administered problem-free.
"At that time, we vowed to hold AIR accountable, and most importantly, to ensure students have a positive testing experience going forward,” said Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart. “The Florida Department of Education purposefully withheld payment to AIR for the 2015 administration until the company delivered a successful test administration in 2016. We are very pleased with this year's test administration, and Florida's students, parents and educators can have confidence in the statewide assessment system."
Critics of the test, however, still don’t think the FDOE has done enough to address the issues with the FSA -- and believe the department itself may be partially to blame for testing malfunctions.
“I think that both the department and AIR are at fault for the way this has gone,” said Effrem. “I just think that it’s a shame bordering on tragedy that kids are having to suffer because of the incompetence of both.”
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
