School leaders fire testing company

(OKLAHOMA CITY) – Parents, teachers and students were frustrated when the first computer glitch in 2013 halted testing for thousands of students.

The frustration reached a new high in 2014 when the same company was hired back to administer the tests and another computer glitch delayed testing.

Now, Oklahoma education leaders are preparing to solicit bids for a new state testing vendor after back-to-back years of disruptions.

The Oklahoma Board of Education voted this week to terminate the agency's contract with the state's current testing vendor CTB/McGraw-Hill. The company is in the second year of a five-year contract.

Oklahoma Department of Education spokeswoman Tricia Pemberton said Friday the agency was drafting a request for proposals.

A spokesman for CTB/McGraw Hill declined to comment on the board's decision.

Pemberton said the state paid the company more than $16 million for two separate testing contracts this year.

Tulsa Superintendent Dr. Keith Ballard said State Superintendent Janet Barresi should have scrapped CTB and found a new system after it failed last year.