Dear Ms. Martin

I wanted to let you know that we at ETS are working hard to come up with a plan to address your concerns around the maintenance windows, and expect to finalize it tomorrow morning. I will be in touch before noon to share that plan with you.

 

Thank you for your patience.

 

With very best wishes,

 

Janet Cook

__________________________
Janet Cook
Executive Director
Higher Education & School Assessments
Educational Testing Service

KEY POINTS:  The bullets below are issues TASPA has shared with key individuals at SBEC and ETS over the issue:

• Maintenance and upgrades of ANY system are typically done at times when it is LEAST disruptive to the users of the system-- education systems should be no different.  The spring and summer months are the most critical hiring time for ISDs.
• Because of NCLB and the HQ requirement, access to testing dates is KEY to be able to hire potential teachers who are only missing their exams.  ISDs need to have access to the test results for the same reasons.
• There are teachers on probationary contracts and probationary certificates pending successful completion of the exams. Many teachers were COUNTING on those July and August dates as their last chance to pass the tests prior to the start of the school year—some folks will lose their jobs if they can't get HQ on time, and this is an issue over which ETS could be sued for denial of a property right.

Below is the original message from iteachTEXAS.  I will send a follow up email  tomorrow afternoon letting you know if this issue has been resolved or not.

best,

alex

Dr. Alejandra (Alex) Martin
Executive Director
TASPA
406 East 11th Street
Austin, TX 78701
Tel (512) 494-9353
Fax (512) 494-9354
amartin@taspa.org
http://taspa.org
People are our most valuable resource!

----------------------- Forwarded Message -----------------------

From: "Clark, Kay"
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:26 PM
To: Wright, Colleen
Subject: information from iteachTEXAS

Good Afternoon,

I know that this is your busiest time of the year, but I want to take a couple of minutes to update you on a few things that I feel impact your district.

We learned, by accident last week from a candidate, that ETS would not be offering Computer Administered Tests (CATs) between July 18 and July 31. I have contacted both SBEC and ETS to explain the impact that the unavailability of these tests will have on both candidates seeking a teaching position and on the hiring districts. In my conversations I have asked for reinstatement of the tests or a waiver of the late and emergency fees for the August 2 paper and pencil tests. Neither of these suggestions were an option for ETS.

Due to the demand for testing seats, in some areas of the state, CAT seats are not available until the middle of August. ETS has agreed to work with us and add additional testing seats after August 1.

The other factor is that the ETS system will also be shut down from August 4 - August 11. During this time tests will be administered but neither the candidate nor programs will be able to access test results.

Again, I have stressed to SBEC and ETS the negative impact of limited testing dates and limited access to test results at this time of the year.

If you have specific testing concerns. we encourage you and the candidates to contact our program or Janice Lopez, SBEC testing, at  janis.reyna@tea.state.tx.us

On a more pleasant note, Kay and I will be at the TASPA conference in Austin next week. Please stop by our table and say hi. We look forward to visiting with you. In the mean time if you need a teacher in a specific content area, please call the office. We will be happy to do a search of the database for you. We will then email you a list of candidates in your area with emails and phone contact information.

Have a great day.

Diann Huber, Ed.D.