Computer-based state testing was thrown into chaos across New York last week as persistent technical failures plagued schools for two consecutive days. The disruptions — affecting thousands of students in Grades 3-8 — led to widespread delays, forced postponements and mounting frustration among educators and administrators.
The issues began early the morning of April 8 and were initially believed to be resolved later that day. However, similar problems returned the next day, with students either booted out mid-test or unable to log in at all. According to school officials, the glitches were severe enough to derail assessments across Long Island, including in districts such as Brentwood, Levittown, East Meadow, Bayport-Blue Point, Massapequa, Shoreham-Wading River, and South Huntington.
Levittown Superintendent Todd Winch described the April 9 middle school ELA testing as “a disaster,” with students at Salk Middle School being logged out en masse about 30 minutes into the exam. At Wisdom Lane Middle School, the disruption was more selective — some students were booted from the system while others were able to continue.
Winch said BOCES relayed a statewide alert to pause testing and “quarantine” student devices, but then provided no further guidance for over two hours.
“The communication has to be better,” Winch said. “What was I to do — have students sit at their computers for hours? That’s not realistic.”
In North Shore Central School District, Superintendent Christopher Zublionis also confirmed that the state science tests had been affected earlier in the week. Speaking at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, Zublionis said all of the state’s exams are now computerized, which has created bandwidth issues.
“Thousands of children take these tests at the exact same time,” he said. “We’ll continue to handle it in the same way, but we hope we fare better in the next few weeks.”
The testing platform, Nextera, is managed by the state’s vendor, NWEA, a nonprofit educational services organization based in Portland, Ore. State Education Department officials said the issues affected not just one subject or grade level, but multiple statewide assessments administered during the spring testing season.
“For the second consecutive day, a number of schools across the state experienced a slowdown with the Grades 3–8 Computer-Based Testing System,” said NYSED spokesperson JP O’Hare in a statement Wednesday. “NYSED apologizes to schools, students, and families and, like those who were impacted, finds this situation unacceptable. Make no mistake: the state’s testing vendor, NWEA, is solely responsible for the issues that have affected testing this year.”
O’Hare said the department is demanding answers and corrective action from NWEA, emphasizing that the vendor will be held accountable for failing to meet expectations and contractual obligations. He added that although NWEA has provided assurances that a permanent solution has been put in place, schools are being allowed to delay or pause testing if needed.
“To offer additional time, the computer-based testing window will be extended by one week to May 23,” O’Hare said, noting that tests will remain on the digital platform and that NYSED will ensure NWEA offers ample support to affected districts.
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 130,000 tests had been completed successfully, but the inconsistent experiences have fueled concerns about the state’s readiness for a fully digital testing system. Full statewide computerization is scheduled to be in place by spring 2026.
On Long Island, where more than 110,000 students participate in annual state testing, many school leaders voiced concerns over lost instructional time and the growing lack of trust in the system. Several districts plan to resume testing after spring break, hoping for smoother operations moving forward.
