A task force will be reviewing the whole area of assessing North Dakota students.
That’s in light of reported problems with the new on-line tests – written by the Smarter Balanced Consortium and administered by the New Hampshire based Measured Progress.
At one point, the main server for the tests shut down – effectively kicking all the test-takers off.
"The contractors have not met our expectations," said state school superintendent Kirsten Baesler. "The problems that we experienced led to a larger conversation about assessments in general. It's a good time for us to analyze and examine our options."
Baesler says she isn’t happy with the roll-out.
"It's a time in North Dakota when we really need to examine what it is that we want from standardized test assessments in general," said Baesler. "We've had a year of Smarter Balance now, and we'll base our conversation on actual experience and evidence. As a state of parents, educators, lawmakers, business and industry decide what it is we want, where shall we spend our time and money to get that."
Baesler says the task force will look at all options.