RSU 5 superintendent warns state test platform failure disrupted high-school assessments

Superintendent Tom Gray told the RSU 5 board April 29 that the district experienced "significant technical difficulties" during administration of the main state science assessment at the high school and that the problem originated with the state's testing platform, not the district.

Gray said testing had to be suspended on the first day, that sessions were disjointed the second day and that many students missed class time or rushed through the assessment. He described cases of students opting out and others being unable to begin testing on schedule, and he said staff are working to understand how those interruptions will affect the validity and interpretability of results.

"There were major issues with the testing platform, which was not on us — it's on the state. Significant disruptions created a great deal of frustrations for students and staff alike," Gray said. He named district staff who are following up to "get this figured out" and said families and educators have reported both rushed administrations and full opt-outs.

Gray said the district is trying to assess impacts on learning time and data validity and will report back to the board; he flagged that the testing interruptions could affect programming decisions that rely on assessment results.

The superintendent also used the report portion of the meeting to tell trustees the district concluded negotiations over an ESP contract and that the CEA ratified an agreement, prompting the board to add an executive session to consider final contract action.

The board did not take public action on testing at the meeting; Gray said staff will follow up and provide additional information to trustees.