TRENTON – Some eighth-grade students have had difficulty taking the online version of the Maine Educational Assessment tests, and their schools have reverted to the pen and pencil version.

The problems that have occurred have not been widespread, according to state officials and steps have been taken to remedy those issues. But the snarls have caused some frustration for students and teachers and some concern for administrators about the eventual results from the tests.

“We’re taking a low-key approach right now,” said Jim Boothby, superintendent for SAD 26 and Union 92. “But we are watching it closely. It is a concern.”

The problem, according to Trenton Elementary School Principal Gary Bosk, is that the computer erases work that the students have done on the test.

“They get to the end and they are unable to save the data,” Bosk said.

In addition to the Trenton school, Windsor Elementary School and the Mill Pond School in Hodgdon also had problems with the online program, according to Susan Smith, the MEA coordinator for the state Department of Education.

Smith acknowledged there have been some problems with the testing, but noted they have not been widespread, and she stressed that no student work has been lost.

“Our contractor has the work,” Smith said. “When there has been a problem, they have dealt with it case by case to clarify the problem and to make sure the work was captured.”

The problem appears to be not with the program, which is a new Web-based version this year, but with the interaction between computers at the local schools and the Web site that is hosted by the contractor, Measured Progress of Dover, N.H.

“If this were a multiple choice test, we wouldn’t be having these problems,” she said.

In addition to multiple choice questions, the MEAs also require written responses, including short paragraph responses and longer written pieces. The problems seem to occur in collecting and sending that written material, Smith said.

Because the program is relatively new, it has been voluntary, Smith said. Just 27 schools in the state opted to participate and just three have had problems, she said.

The department required schools to go through a readiness certification or practice test before administering the actual MEA tests. Some problems arose during that process and some schools opted not to participate this year. The issues identified during the practice tests were corrected, she said.

“We had so many problems with the practice test, so we did it on paper this year,” said Fred Cole, principal at the Blue Hill Consolidated School, which has used the online test in the past. “We really wanted to use the computer, especially in the writing portion. That’s the way they [pupils] usually write. They’re really at a disadvantage.”

That was the concern for Superintendent Boothby who worried that the issues surrounding the test may affect the overall results.

Specifically, Boothby noted that the test results reflect not only individual achievement, but also are used by the Education Department to track grade level progress under the umbrella of the No Child Left Behind law. Schools that are identified as not making adequate yearly progress face time pressure to improve the scores and also face financial penalties, including loss of some federal funding.

That makes it increasingly important to make sure the test results are valid, Boothby said.

Smith indicated that steps were taken to make sure the students’ efforts were adequately reflected in the tests.

“Some could argue that if they didn’t have a totally smooth test administration, which happens in the written tests, too, that the results could be affected,” she said. “In these cases, we tried to give them the opportunity to go back and spend more time on it.”

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