Rep. Bob Behning, who championed the so-called “kill ISTEP” bill last spring, said the state might extend its contract with the company that made this year’s ISTEP by another one or two years.
The educator-dominated panel voted 21-2 in favor of recommendations to state legislators that include moving the testing period from its current March and April times into a single time span in May.
Indiana officials are considering whether schools should be spared for a second year from penalties based on poor student scores on the state's ISTEP standardized test.
Scores fell across the state, but the situation was worse in IPS, where the passing rate went down by 4 percentage points to 25.3 percent in 2016.
Across the state, 51.6 percent of students in grades 3-8 passed both the math and reading test, down from 53.5 percent in 2015.
Committee chairwoman Nicole Fama, a principal in the Indianapolis Public Schools district, told members Tuesday she would work with their suggestions and draft a “very broad” proposal ahead of the final meeting Nov. 29.
Members of a state panel criticized by Indiana superintendents for being slow in rolling out a replacement for the ISTEP student test said they expect to forward a detailed proposal to lawmakers by the December deadline.
Indiana superintendents are blasting a state panel for being slow in choosing a replacement for the ISTEP student test, saying more delays will put students at risk.
Some members of a key testing advisory panel admit it’s increasingly likely the state will have to keep its unpopular ISTEP a bit longer.
Jennifer McCormick, a school superintendent from Yorktown running for Indiana superintendent of public instruction, has revealed details of how she’d like to see Indiana’s testing system change.
The holdup in scoring the 2015 ISTEP created a number of major problems for the state and required legislative action, according to education officials.
Starting Wednesday exactly 134 days remain until the panel charged with overhauling Indiana’s testing system must make recommendations. But after three meetings, no one can even agree on a broad vision for the test.
The 23-member study panel, which is comprised of educators, state officials and academics, heard expert testimony during a three-hour hearing at the Statehouse.
A New Hampshire pilot program eschews computerized testing and multiple-choice tests for “performance tasks” spread throughout the school year that are meant to measure a deeper understanding of the subjects students are studying.
The leader of a new state panel says the committee will be doing a deep analysis to recommend a replacement for Indiana's unpopular ISTEP student exam.
The 23-member panel reviewing new testing options has two potential paths. Members can focus on implementing assessments that offer teachers actionable feedback on student preparedness. Or they can focus on what’s likely to quell anti-testing fervor—whether changing the test’s format, attempting to lower its stakes, or easing its rigor.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed the measure into law Tuesday during an assembly at Eagle Elementary School in Zionsville.
The bill’s final vote came only after serious concerns raised by House Democrats, who passionately asserted on the House floor that they were being left out of future discussions over the test.
Some schools are being affected by a flawed question on Indiana's standardized ISTEP student exam, which began Monday.
A measure passed on a 38-10 vote would create a 22-member panel to "study alternatives to the ISTEP" and "make recommendations for replacing" the test.
