Technology glitch forces some Gwinnett County students to take finals after winter break

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Some Gwinnett County students will have to take their final exams after the holidays due to a technology glitch.

District spokesperson Sloan Roach told FOX 5 the district had technical issues this week with the Peason SchoolNet Platform, the vendor which provides online testing for Gwinnett County Schools.

Sloan said, all high schools, except for Peachtree Ridge High School, which was on a different schedule,

dismissed 30 minutes later than their previously scheduled early release time Tuesday because of technology issues. Teachers wanted to give students more time to finish tests once

the system was operating properly.

There were more problems Wednesday. School leaders said, due to the volume of students taking their second final exam around the same time, the online testing system was disrupted. Because of the issues, parents were notified some students will be able to take their final exams in January, meaning they won't know their final grades for the first semester until then.

The district released the following statement to FOX 5 News Wednesday afternoon:

"In looking at options, we determined it was best to allow students who were not able to finish their exams this week due to the disruption of service with the Pearson SchoolNet Platform to take those exams in January when we return from Winter Break. This will ensure that students who need to finish exams have the time they need to do their best.,"

Sloan said students will take exams scheduled for Thursday. And students who have not completed all of their final exams by dismissal time will be able to take them in January. The district says the testing will not happen on January 3 or 4. A few Gwinnett County schools do 100 percent online testing, others do a mixture of online and paper-pencil testing, while others rely solely on paper and pencil when it comes to testing.