Ritz: Bennett broke state rule with grade change
Ritz told Democratic activists last week "If you believe those (changed grades) were done because they should have been, you're fooling yourself."
K-12
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Scores from ISTEP ready for parents of students
The Indiana Department of Education released ISTEP scores Monday to the families of students, but is still working on tallies for schools and school districts.
Rose-Hulman starts new year of homework hotline
A free tutoring service that has helped thousands of middle and high school students for the past 22 years is coming off a record-setting year.
State leaders vow transparency post-Bennett
Indiana's education leaders are learning from the mistakes of former School Superintendent Tony Bennett, starting with their promise to spend more time crafting Indiana's new school grading formula and doing so in the open.
UPDATE: Review of A-F system finds no special treatment
A legislative review has found former Indiana state schools superintendent Tony Bennett changed the grade for a charter school as a matter of “quality control.” The findings say the Christel House school in Indianapolis didn’t receive special treatment.
New school to anchor Central State project
The first new non-residential building at the former Central State Hospital campus, at the corner of West Washington Street and Tibbs Avenue, will be a charter school. Christel House Academy West broke ground last month on about nine acres donated by the city.
More than 1,300 ISTEP test results to be tossed
When ISTEP scores are released next week, parents and teachers will be able to easily identify whether a student’s exam was interrupted during last spring’s testing period and whether the results are valid.
GOP powerbrokers crafted Indiana education policy, emails show
The Indiana education overhaul associated with Tony Bennett and then-Gov. Mitch Daniels actually was crafted in private by a handful of state GOP bigwigs, including Al Hubbard, Mark Miles and Mark Lubbers, according to emails obtained by the Associated Press. Elected officials weren’t included for months.
Panel to make recommendations for grading system
State leaders have created another new education panel – this one to help develop an A-F grading system to replace one that has come under fire following accusations it was adjusted to help a specific school.
Indiana chooses new test to replace GED
The state plans to hire the company that struggled to administer this year’s ISTEP test to provide a high school equivalency exam that will replace the one in use for decades.
ISTEP results delayed again; target now Sept. 9
The release of the results of ISTEP tests taken by Indiana students this spring is being delayed further.
Pence says new agency to help students find work
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says he's creating a new state agency that will gear public education to better meet the needs of employers, a move that the state's top public education official said she was not consulted on.
Youth camp suing to block planned hog farm
The action comes after the White County commissioners last month approved a zoning change to allow the hog facility about a half-mile from the 600-acre YMCA Camp Tecumseh.
Pence aide leaving post, had role in grade scandal
Gov. Mike Pence’s chief lobbyist, Heather Neal, who was chief of staff to former Indiana schools Superintendent Tony Bennett last year, will join Limestone Strategies as president of its public affairs practice.
UPDATE: Indy schools seek records on state takeovers
Indianapolis Public Schools leaders filed a public records request Thursday seeking information on the 2011 takeover of four schools amid questions about the integrity of the state's A-F school grading formula.
Golfer finishes coast-to-coast fundraiser for Indy school
Luke Bielawski, a student from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, spent 96 days this summer teeing off from California to South Carolina to raise money for Providence Cristo Rey High School.
Indiana officials find school grading ‘manipulation’
Indiana officials have found evidence of "manipulation" in the state's school grading formula as part of a review stemming from a grade-changing scandal.
Indiana testing vendor having troubles in Oklahoma, too
CTB/McGraw-Hill, the second-largest educational testing service in the U.S., has apologized for computer issues that disrupted thousands of students’ online tests in Oklahoma and Indiana in late April.
Online schools face scrutiny over scores, growth
Hoosier Academies and Indiana Connections Academy are both sponsored by Ball State University. Neither school came close to the state average for ISTEP+ scores last year.
Indiana lawmakers launch review of school grading scandal
Republican Senate President Pro Tem David Long and Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma announced Friday the creation of an independent task force to review the school grading system.