Glitches, Cyberattacks Deal Blow to Credibility of Florida’s New School Tests
The debut of new standardized computer testing in Florida has proved anything but standard for the state’s eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders. Florida officials say cyberattacks caused some school testing problems First came server problems caused by the state’s vendor, American Institutes for Research. Then, according to officials, a cyberattack known as a “distributed denial of service,” or DDOS, struck the system, and law enforcement is investigating.
Some kids took the test without a hitch. Some struggled to overcome the glitches. Some have yet to finish, days after starting. The upshot has been doubt. Parents, educators and decisionmakers have demanded to know: Can the results ever be trusted?