TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Ten Florida members of Congress asked Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday not to allow the state's new standardized test to be used for teacher evaluations, student promotion to the fourth grade or graduation, regardless of the results of an independent validation scheduled to be completed by Sept. 1.
The letter, released by Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, was signed by eight other Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
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"Even if the statutorily mandated independent evaluation due in September deems test questions valid, serious questions remain about whether the disruptive testing conditions rendered this test an unreliable tool for assessing student learning," the letter says. "Children across the state suffered through blank screens, crashed servers, and repeated log outs. We cannot reasonably expect our children to perform well under these circumstances."
The independent evaluation of the Florida Standards Assessments was approved by lawmakers as part of a broader testing bill (HB 7069) after the heavily-criticized rollout of the new exams.
In addition to technical snafus, the testing platform was also struck by a cyber attack.