ALBANY, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) — New York education officials have postponed a second day of computerized English assessments after technical issues caused disruptions statewide.
The state Education Department says it will work with testing vendor Questar Assessment to fix the problem that affected students taking the annual assessments online Tuesday.
Computer-based testing for Wednesday is cancelled. About a quarter of New York districts have transitioned to computers for the mandatory two-day tests, with the rest expected to follow.
Officials say the Minnesota-based vendor has dispatched staff around the state to assist schools.
A computer issue interfered with last year's English assessments as well.
Niagara Falls Superintendent Mark Laurrie told WBEN on Wednesday that he was disappointed because their schools prepared by purchasing 2,000 new computers in an effort to avoid a glitch.
"I assume that it was because of the extreme volume of people taking the test at the time," Laurrie said. "We had the support of Questar at the time but they still weren't able to rectify the situation."
Districts are awaiting further guidance from the state education department.
