Hundreds of schools hit by test glitch

Published Friday, 12 October 2012
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Technical difficulties have affected pupils taking computer based tests at hundreds of primary schools across Northern Ireland.

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The problems, which have been reported to CCEA over the past three weeks, have resulted in computers freezing or crashing during assessments on literacy and numeracy.

An investigation has been launched and while the cause has not yet been identified, it is has been linked to system and network issues.

CCEA said the majority of schools have not been hit, adding that to date 37,603 pupils have completed the literacy assessment and 35,957 have completed the numeracy assessment.

A statement said: "CCEA and the assessment providers continue to work very closely with C2K and Northgate to investigate the problems as a matter of urgency and to determine the cause (or causes) of these issues.

"CBAs are not high stakes assessments. They are diagnostic assessments designed to support schools in identifying pupils' strengths and areas where they are having difficulties.

"The outcomes from the computer-based assessments should therefore help teachers plan their teaching during the school year to meet the needs of pupils in their classrooms.

"We are very sensitive to the impact that these problems may be having on pupils and teachers. Therefore, we have been advising schools who continue to experience technical problems to discontinue the assessments until this matter is resolved."

CCEA said the problems did not show up during testing.

Schools still experiencing the problems can contact the C2k helpdesk on 0870 6011666.

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2 Comments
Computer based test in Dallas wrote (222 days ago):
Despite technical problems, the value to these computer based tests is helping teachers better tailor lesson plans to their students’ particular strengths and weaknesses. I fully support computer based testing because it will provide fair and precise evaluation of a student's competency.
John in Armagh wrote (225 days ago):
Yet another education fiasco. Who's been in charge of education over the past 10 years or so, oh yea Sein Fein!
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