Glitch delays testing in Franklin Square

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Students in Franklin Square were among those across the state who had difficulties with their English Language Arts assessment tests on April 10 and 11, after technical glitches blocked some schools from taking and submitting their exams, state and local officials said. State education officials said the glitch occurred through a system developed by Questar Assessment Inc., the test vendor chosen by the state to role out its new, computer-based testing this year. 

“We were trying to make sure that our students don’t feel stressed out by this,” Franklin Square School District Superintendent Patrick Manley said. 

He said Questar visited the district on April 12 to examine the student’s iPads that were used to take the exam and make sure the devices had access to all the work the students had already completed. Manley stressed that the district’s devices and networks were all in working order until news of the Questar glitch came out on April 11. The district had students submit and finish their tests on April 16.  

Questar did not return the Herald’s request for comment.

“This was an unfortunate incident,” Manley said. “Testing is stressful enough to children, so the last thing we want to do is add to that.” 

Franklin Square parents continued to weigh in on whether or not to opt out of state testing on a closed Facebook group. While some parents agreed with their children’s decision to take the exams, many parents said that state tests cause unnecessary stress, which was only compounded by the Questar glitch. 

“My children are not going to be the subjects of meaningless studies funded by corporations that don’t have my best interests at heart,” one parent posted.  

Franklin Square and Elmont schools have yet to finalize how many students opted out of state testing, but Elmont School District officials said their preliminary numbers “reflect a slight decline from last year.” Elmont School District officials said their schools were not affected by the Questar error.