Iowa's testing system crashes, sparks audit

A statewide education program began crashing this month, leaving some teachers unable to administer high-stakes reading tests and some students taking them multiple times.

Iowa education leaders are considering their options, including possibly ending the relationship with a Minnesota-based tech group that's been scrutinized for financial mismanagement, if problems continue through a second testing window in January.

Iowa has paid more than $14 million to TIES, the nonprofit tech group owned by Minnesota school districts, since 2013. That includes a $4.1 million cost this school year.

TIES operates a program called TIER, a data management system that interacts with testing programs. Iowa teachers have reported issues from not being able to access the system to administer testing to the system crashing in the middle of use.

The Iowa Department of Education is pursing a third-party technology audit to determine the extent of the problem.

"The seriousness, the depth of the problem, was something that surprised us," said Amy Williamson, chief of the department's Bureau of School Improvement.

If issues are not resolved, the department could find TIES in breach of contract, prompting them to seek a different vendor and a new management system, she said.

"This sort of thing has me reeling and spinning, after three years of development," said Connor Hood, a program consultant in the Bureau of School Improvement. "We're all hoping very much that we get (the issues) cleared out."

Mark Wolak, executive director of TIES, said in an email that the nonprofit is "deeply committed to the vision and success of this effort in Iowa schools, and have dedicated the necessary staffing to meet the demands of this project."

In the meantime, Iowa schools are taking stop-gap measures to complete required literacy screenings. That includes limiting the number of districts testing on certain days, and recommending that students in grades K-3, who are legally required to be screened, are tested before preschool students or those in grades 4-6.

State leaders also extended the FAST testing window through October. The reading exam, which is a few minutes long and administered individually, is operated by a different vendor.

FAST tests are given three times a year to identify struggling readers, and will eventually be used to determine which third-graders are held back or forced to attend summer school. Iowa's controversial third-grade retention law is set to take effect in the of spring 2018.

“This is a very high-stakes assessment," said Tracy Thomsen, assistant principal and curriculum director in Clear Lake. "It's scary, as an administrator, when the technology is not working.”

The technology audit will determine the extent of the problems, the best way to fix them and how long it will take. More information will be known after it's completed.

"We're taking it very seriously. We're spending public money and we need proof that this can be remedied," Williamson said.

Reported challenges

TIES has garnered scrutiny after Iowa's contract began in 2013. The tech collaborative was created in 1967 to provide technology to schools, and is owned by 46 school districts in Minnesota.

In 2015, it was sued by a competitor for allegedly failing to follow Minnesota's competitive bidding laws. That case is ongoing.

In 2014, an audit found TIES mismanaged millions of dollars and was losing money, running a deficit of $2.78 million through June of that year.

TIES was reportedly using lines of credit to cover financial shortfalls, had paid more than $47,000 to a telephone company despite no longer using its services, and had spent millions more than anticipated to update an event center and parking lot, but could not provide change orders to auditors.

Wolak said TIES addressed audit findings "through improved oversight, internal controls and new financial processes."

Williamson said she was aware of the audit findings, which prompted executive leadership changes, but was not concerned at the time.

“We didn’t have any reason to believe that any of their audit findings were related to our project, in any way,” she said.

'Technology glitches'

Soon after the FAST assessment window opened Sept. 6, schools reported problems with TIER.

"We had a whole, full week that we couldn't get into the system," said Val Dolezal, Cedar Rapid's executive administrator of elementary education. In addition, more than 100 teachers could not be logged in, she said.

Williamson said problems stem from an increase in use, as more teachers began testing at the beginning of the window. In addition, 100 schools are piloting the program's use of behavior data, which put pressure on the system.

But there's also been several "technology glitches." Hood described one where servers appear to keep users in a loop. Similar to a revolving door with a single line, it bottlenecks because only some are let in.

Last year, roughly 25,000 students were tested on any given day. Earlier this month, it was as low as 11,000, said Williamson.

Frustration with the program — which has experienced delays before, but apparently not to this scale — has mounted.

“It’s hard to keep kids motivated when they have to redo a test a couple times,” said Steve Sauvain, elementary principal in River Valley Schools.

Some educators contacted the Iowa Board of Education to report concerns. At their Sept. 15 board, Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise said TIES was “working around the clock” to get issues resolved.

"We’re as frustrated as every person who wrote a letter," he said.

System plans, costs

TIES was one of two finalists for Iowa's 2013 contract, and was ultimately selected over Public Consulting Group because of how it could be customized to Iowa's needs, Williamson said.

Annual costs began at $2.3 million in 2013. Multiple budget amendments were submitted starting in 2014 and annual costs rose to $4.1 million in 2016, according to TIES contracts requested by the Register.

At the time, Williamson spoke with Minnesota districts who were pleased with TIES technology. She believes Iowa was the first to contract with the nonprofit for a statewide system.

“It’s been quite a good bargain and a good partner with us,” Williamson said. “I don’t want to leave you believing it’s not doing great things.”

Plans called for the TIER program to connect with reading and math tests, as well as data that tracks students with disabilities and information about emotional, social and behavioral issues.

Leaders wanted to make student data readily available to teachers, who could use it to tailor lessons, or analyze behavior data to find ways to lower student discipline.

Sioux City educators had hoped to share test results with elementary parents during conferences, which start Wednesday. Students are losing instruction time as teachers keep trying to use the program to meet that deadline, she said.

“It’s too bad it’s getting a black eye,” said Kim Buryanek, associate superintendent in the district. “The assessments are causing some great conversations to occur among teachers about instruction."