FCAT servers go down, testing halted

Department of Education says computerized FCAT testing affected by server issue

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Teachers in several schools across Florida were asked to stop their students from taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test on Tuesday after there were reported problems with the system.

Pearson engineers were working to resolve a server issue affecting computerized FCAT testing, according to the Florida Department of Education.

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According Victoria Ash, DOE chief of K-12 student assessment, Pearson was experiencing difficulty with a hosting provider Tuesday morning, which is causing issues with testing (both TestNav and TestHear) and accessing the PearsonAccess website for test management.

The issue does not seem to be statewide, but several districts including Putnam County, St. Johns County and Nassau County schools reported issues.

According to the Putnam County Schools Superintendent, teachers were asked to suspend the computerized FCAT testing until further notice. St. Johns County school officials said the testing ran a little slow but were completed. And Nassau County officials said schools had to suspend the testing for all grade levels.

Ash sent an email to Florida school districts addressing the issue:

"We do not currently have an estimated timeline from Pearson for when this issue will be resolved, but we will be in touch with updates/resolutions throughout the day.

"If your district is not experiencing issues, you may continue testing as scheduled as your district is likely not routing through the affected server.

"Some of you have inquired about schedule extensions due to this issue.

"Once the problem is resolved, if you have schools that will need more time to complete testing beyond your district's schedule, please let us know (in writing) and we will work with you to ensure that all students in your district have sufficient opportunity to test."

Duval County Public Schools said only a few charter schools were affected by the computer problems.

It's not yet know if Clay County schools were affected by the server issue.