OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A testing vendor responsible for back-to-back years of disruptions during high-stakes standardized tests for Oklahoma students is expected to be approved for another $2.8 million sole-source contract with the Department of Education for testing this year.
The State Board of Education is expected to consider the proposed contract during its regular meeting Thursday in Oklahoma City.
The board voted this summer to terminate the agency's contract with vendor CTB/McGraw-Hill after another 8,100 middle and high school students across the state experienced computer problems during tests. Those glitches followed similar problems in 2013.
But Department of Education spokesman Phil Bacharach says a delay in new state education standards and short turnaround to solicit new bidders left state officials no choice but to use CTB/McGraw Hill to conduct tests in December.