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Tim Post

Computer glitches again frustrate state student testing

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Some Minnesota schools faced a second day of testing delays Wednesday because of computer problems.

The problems, apparently caused by a server malfunction at testing company Pearson, prevented students from logging in for about 30 minutes in the morning to take their Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment tests. A similar problem happened several times Tuesday.

The Minnesota Department of Education said students already logged in don't appear to have problems, and their test scores aren't in danger of disappearing.

Minnesota schools have a two-month window, from early March until mid-May, to test students. Problems like this aren't unexpected but they are frustrating, said Dave Heistad, testing director for the Bloomington school district.

"I'd like this to be the last day that we have problems and everything go smoothly from now on," he said.

This is the first year of Pearson's three-year, $38 million online testing contract with Minnesota. Last month some schools reported crashes during testing because of hardware compatibility issues with Pearson's system.

Last month several schools complained of testing problems caused by software and hardware compatibility with Pearson's online system.

The state ended its relationship with another testing company last year after server glitches caused significant problems with online testing in 2013.