TNReady results this year won't count against students, teachers, Tennessee lawmakers decide

The Tennessee General Assembly struck a deal Thursday that will ensure this year's TNReady test won't be held against students, teachers and public school districts.

The measure agreed upon by both chambers says test results this school year will count only if it benefits students, educators and districts. Districts can’t base employment or compensation decisions based on the data, the legislation says.

It came about after an extraordinary 11th-hour deal by the House to address ongoing test issues that continued sporadically on Thursday across the state.

► More: More TNReady problems reported in Shelby County

“All across the state we have heard from superintendents, testing coordinators about some issues logging in, recording the tests as the kids took them, sometimes not being able to log in,” said House Republican Caucus Chair Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville.

“I think what happened was the House felt like we needed to do something to protect teachers and our students and our institutions from further erosion of the trust as it relates to these tests. I think what you saw today is an effort to do that.”

The Haslam administration also said the message was clear.

"It was clear many members of the General Assembly wanted to address concerns related to the recent administration of state assessments," said Jennifer Donnals, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Haslam. "The governor and Commissioner (Candice) McQueen understand these concerns and did not oppose the legislation."

Issues have marred the start of spring testing this week

Issues were reported on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

By far, Tuesday marked the most significant issue for the state. On that day, the Tennessee Department of Education announced a reported cyberattack on its vendor Questar Assessment that caused the company to shut down the system.

The "deliberate attack" on Questar's systems affected five other states the company contracts with to manage online testing.

More on TNReady

► Tennessee education chief to lawmakers in wake of TNReady mishaps: 'We are devastated'

► TNReady online test may have experienced 'deliberate attack,' state's education chief says

► State Dems call for the resignation of Tennessee education chief after TNReady issues

► TNReady testing problems: 5 things you need to know

As news alerts about continued issues reached House lawmakers on the chamber floors, members immediately began speaking out of order, calling for action.

House Democrats called for McQueen's resignation. In a Republican caucus meeting, members considered an amendment similar to the final decision Thursday. Another amendment would have returned the state to paper testing.

On Wednesday, McQueen appeared before lawmakers, facing questions for more than two hours on the problems that have plagued TNReady for several years.

Lawmakers demanded accountability and for the state to work toward instilling confidence in the $30-million-a-year test.

The commissioner apologized for the issues and after the hearing asked for Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk to call on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and state Office of Homeland Security to investigate.

Funk requested the TBI investigation Wednesday night, according to TBI spokeswoman Susan Niland.

House lawmakers had enough of the problems

Scattered reports of additional problems emerged Thursday in districts that included Knoxville, Nashville and Shelby County.

The issues were resolved quickly, and the Tennessee Department of Education reported about 250,000 test sessions were successfully completed online — a new one-day high for online testing in Tennessee.

But those in the House had enough.

The Senate passed its version of the fiscal year 2018-2019 budget and sent it back to the House for review.

Members ended up holding up the measure for more than two hours until the Senate, in a conference committee, ensured they would accept the House's wishes.

"I guess maybe it was a negotiating tool," Williams said and smiled. "I guess it could just be considered as coincidental. I think if the budget wasn’t here it would have been some other bill."

At the end of the day, Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate were congratulating one another for coming together to get the bill through.

Others also praise lawmakers

The move by lawmakers drew applause from groups representing districts and teachers.

Dale Lynch, Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents executive director, said no student or teacher should be held accountable after the problems this week.

“We need to recognize this test administration was a failure," Lynch said. "I completely support, and superintendents support, moving to an online assessment. We just need to get it right, and this is not right.”

The Professional Educators of Tennessee, one of the state's teacher groups, praised the measure.

"We are very pleased legislators ensured that employment or compensation decisions based on the data cannot be used,” said JC Bowman, the group's executive director. "I think everyone, despite their position on the testing, wanted this to be a success."

Questions about accountability still exist

The decision by lawmakers says that districts and schools won’t receive A-F rankings on tested data.

The legislation also means that the upcoming fall 2018 priority list, required by law to be created every three years, will be absent of the 2018 data. The priority school list details the bottom 5 percent of schools in the state and has legal implications for schools.

The TNReady results can be used to improve a school’s status on the list.

But it brings into question whether the upcoming priority list will be created with one year’s data in grades 3-8 and two years’ data for high schools.

In 2016, only high school students took the spring TNReady test after online tests were canceled statewide. Last year elementary and high school students took paper tests.

Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, called the last-minute deal unusual and added that not every situation will have been thought out. But the intent is clear, he said.

“I would think that the department should be and would be very reluctant to act in a way that is contrary to what the legislature tried to do today," he said.

Jennifer Pignolet and Amy Nixon contributed to this report.

Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales. Reach Jordan Buie at jbuie@tennessean.com or 615-726-5970 and on Twitter @jordanbuie.