Georgia’s school test contractor will provide $4.5 million in sweat equity to make up for “disruptions” during the administration of the Georgia Milestones tests this spring, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
There were sporadic problems in April when the test was given for the first time by contractor CTB/McGraw-Hill, the state agency said. The company, whose $23 million contract with Georgia is up for renewal with this week, has agreed to make up for the disruptions by providing free services deemed to be worth $4.5 million.
The company will provide $2.6 million in work to create a new test for the “traditional/discrete” math curriculum, a new alternative to the controversial “integrated” math experiment of recent years. The company will also provide nearly $2 million-worth of other services, including an analysis of the problems that marred the roll out of the Milestones test this year.
State education officials attribute the problems to an inability of the online system to “sync” student information across databases. Computerized testing stations at some schools stalled, as some special education students experienced “freezing” with screen readers due to an insufficient number of computer servers, according to the state education department. Officials had to suspend testing for “a relatively small number” of students.
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