Across the state, 266 high schools just successfully completed TNReady fall block end-of-course testing completely online. Nearly 120,000 TNReady EOC tests, which included more than 300,000 subparts, were taken on the online Nextera platform over the course of the three-week testing window. Because the online process allows for students’ exams to be immediately uploaded, scoring was able to begin three weeks ago. Additionally, this fall the department implemented new improvements in data flow and optimization that will allow for students’ scores to be returned quickly.
All high school students are taking TNReady online this year, with the online platform being optional for students in grades 5-8. In Tennessee, high schools are either structured with a traditional schedule – meaning students take one course over two semesters – or block schedule, where one course is fit within a single semester, similar to a college class. Students take their EOC exam at the conclusion of the course, either in the fall or the spring. We have 97 school districts who have some or all of their high schools on fall block schedules.
The experience students had during this testing window is the culmination of many months of work by hundreds of people, including district staff, department staff, and our vendors. Much of the effort to prepare was proactive as we anticipated risks, designed mitigations, and repeatedly tested platforms, content, and user experiences. Over the course of the fall, more than 160,000 practice sessions were completed on Nextera, helping us to further students’ ability to successfully use the online platform.
We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from districts about the online administration. Here are a few comments:
- “Testing is going very, very well, we’ve had zero issues!”
- “I know you all don’t EVEN have time for any extra emails, but I just wanted to say my hats off to you guys!!! Thanks so much for always answering my questions and responding when I need help! You all are great and I hope they don’t wear you out just yet!!!!! Thanks again for all you do.”
- “Going great in our neck of the woods. Every process has hiccups. Pencil lead breaks, too. ”
Here is a statement you can attribute to Commissioner Candice McQueen:
“We are proud of our students, and we greatly appreciate the time and energy our educators spent to ensure that students were ready for this moment, both academically and technologically. We always want assessment to be a moment to celebrate what students know, and having a smooth online administration allows assessment to be a seamless part of the teaching and learning cycle so we can focus on using these results to better support students. Now we are looking to build on this successful administration as we quickly return raw scores and move ahead into preparations for the spring.”
Thanks,
Sara