The company studying the validity of Florida’s new state test had said it would complete its work by today. But it has told the Florida Department of Education it needs a bit more time, so it will complete its work by Tuesday, a department spokesman said.
The study of the Florida Standards Assessments, or FSA, was required by the Florida Legislature and, by state law, was to be complete no later than Sept. 1.
Alpine Testing Solutions, a Utah company and one of two working on the FSA study, had said in its proposal that its work would be done by Aug. 28.
But it asked for an extension and was given until Tuesday, since the Sept. 1 date is in state law, said Meghan Collins, a spokesman for the education department.
Lawmakers required the study because of widespread complaints about the new FSA. Its roll out earlier this year was marred by technology problems and fears it debuted too soon for students to be adequately prepared.
Requiring the study has delayed the release of FSA scores — which had been set to be announced in early June.
Education Commissioner Pam Stewart told reporters earlier this week that the department will announce a decision about what to do with 2015 FSA scores once it has received the study, PoliticoFlorida reported.
“We’re waiting on results of the validity study, and as soon as we have that, we’ll be moving forward whichever direction we need to be moving,” Stewart said.
The FSA replaced most of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. It is a series of language arts and math tests for students in grades 3 to 10 and for students taking certain high school math courses.
The FSA is aligned to the new Florida Standards, the state’s version of Common Core, benchmarks for what students should learn in language arts and math classes.
