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Florida Teachers' Union Wants To Put The Brakes On High Stakes Of New Tests

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating a possible cyber-attackthat caused testing delays at public schools last week. Problems with the state’s new standardized online writing test for eighth through 10th graders started on day one when schools had trouble logging into the system. The state teachers’ union has had concerns about how the state measures student performance, even before the new online testing rolled out.

The Florida Education Association says superintendents and school boards across the state have been telling Florida Department of Education and lawmakers that they weren't ready for the amount of computerized testing required this year.

"When you are giving a high stakes test, that is going to determine a student, whether they graduate, whether they move to the third grade, you're going to use it for teacher evaluation and pay, then you ought to make sure that the system is accurate and ready to go. We have said all along we should be using this year as a pause. They should give the assessment, then look at the results," said Florida Education Association Vice President Joanne McCall.

The computer-based writing tests continue this week. Listen to the full interview with FEA Vice President McCall in the player above.