Pence, legislators open to ditching ISTEP for cheaper alternative
Two bills already have passed the Senate that push the state in the direction of a national test.
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Senate defeats civics test bill, grapples with ISTEP
Indiana students might be off the hook from a proposal asking they pass a civics test to graduate from high school after a bill to require it was defeated in the state Senate on Tuesday.
Educators say cuts to ISTEP test times not enough
Indiana school administrators say they welcome efforts to shorten the standardized test that 450,000 students soon will begin taking, but they say the exam will still take too long.
Senate OKs bill allowing board to vote for leader
The move most likely would result in Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, a Democrat, being removed from the position.
State budget proposal shifts aid toward wealthy schools
IPS would see a 6-percent reduction in state tuition aid by 2017 despite being one of the state’s poorest districts, with more than 75 percent of children coming from families that are poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Ritz says ISTEP testing time can be cut by 3 hours
Indiana’s schools superintendent says a plan is in the works to cut about three hours from the maximum time that students will take the state’s standardized tests.
Long, Bosma say they’ll do what’s needed to shorten ISTEP
Indiana legislative leaders said they’re prepared to ram through legislation to make the state’s ISTEP test shorter, but they won’t consider Superintendent Glenda Ritz’s proposal to pause the school grading system for one year.
ISTEP stress test called ‘complete disaster’
“A number of schools” reported freezing issues Thursday during the test run, which was designed to ensure that the system worked smoothly when the online portion of the standardized test is given to 470,000 Indiana students in the coming weeks.
Ritz proposes 1-year freeze on school accountability grades
The State Board of Education will consider a proposal to suspend accountability grades and scrap portions of the ISTEP+ exam as it grapples with concerns about increased testing time for students.
Schools being told to be ready for longer ISTEP exam
Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Danielle Shockey said it wasn’t clear what changes could be made before the first possible day of the testing period arrives on Feb. 25.
UPDATE: Senate panel OKs bill to let education board elect leader
The legislation would overturn the current law in which the state's elected superintendent of public instruction – now Democrat Glenda Ritz – automatically chairs the board.
Ritz requests special meeting on length of ISTEP test
Department of Education data show the total time for administering the ISTEP+ test will more than double for all grades, topping out at 12 hours, 30 minutes for third-graders.
House, Senate continue push to revamp education governance
Majority Republicans in the House and Senate are pushing forward with bills to revamp the Indiana Board of Education and strip power from the state superintendent even as Democrats complain the GOP is only playing politics.
Lawmakers consider national test to replace ISTEP
Senate Bill 566, authored by Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, and Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, would halt an effort to create a new ISTEP, instead directing the state to use a national test beginning in the 2016-17 school year.
Bill to revamp State Board of Education advances
Tensions continued to flare Monday as the Senate Rules Committee debated and then passed legislation to alter the composition of the Indiana State Board of Education and demote the superintendent as its chair.
Republicans marching toward curbs on Ritz’s authority
Glenda Ritz's supporters protest that Republicans are disenfranchising a state electorate that gave Ritz 57,000 more votes than GOP Gov. Mike Pence received in the same election.
Bills weakening school chief’s power advance in House
The elected state superintendent of public instruction would lose authority over several areas of education policy under Republican-backed proposals approved Thursday by an Indiana House committee.
Panel backs shifting power to Indiana state education board
An Indiana House committee has advanced a Republican-led proposal for shifting authority over education policy away from the elected state superintendent of public instruction.
Lawmakers consider shifting Ritz’s power to state board
A wide-ranging bill discussed Tuesday would give the Indiana State Board of Education authority over testing, standards, student data, state takeovers and teacher evaluation.
Lawmakers debate Pence plan to boost charter funding
The Senate Appropriations Committee heard almost two hours of testimony Thursday from representatives both for and against the governor’s suggested $1,500 per-student grant to the state’s public charter schools.