According to the Governor's Office, the move to temporarily reinstate paper-based testing next year will allow the new vendor to establish an accountable, long-term solution to be put in place for students, teachers and taxpayers.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Thursday that his administration, in coordination with the Tennessee General Assembly, is temporarily reinstating paper-based assessments for students taking the TNReady test in the 2019-2020 school year.

According to the Governor's Office, the move to temporarily reinstate paper-based testing next year will allow the new vendor to establish an accountable, long-term solution to be put in place for students, teachers and taxpayers.

“We must ensure the utmost quality in our annual assessment,” said Lee. “Commissioner Schwinn and her team at the Department of Education are doing outstanding work to get testing on the right track, and we thank the General Assembly for their thoughtful approach on this matter.”

Testing for the 2018-2019 school year, the final year with the current vendor, begins on Monday, April 8 and the online version of the test will be delivered as scheduled.

In preparation for testing, 100 percent of districts reported as meeting the criteria for technical readiness to give the online assessment, according to the Governor's Office.

“One year of paper-based testing will give the new vendor a full year to properly stand up a Tennessee office, hire exceptional talent, and make sure the assessment is ready for Tennessee classrooms,” said Commissioner Schwinn.