Without an exemption approved last month, most schools would have received a D or an F. That would have affected teacher’s evaluations, and therefore pay, and put many schools on the path to state intervention.
Indiana legislators have voted to end the mandatory use of student standardized test results in teacher evaluations, dropping a requirement long opposed by teachers.
Teachers have long objected to the requirement, and bill sponsor Republican Rep. Tony Cook of Cicero said removing it acknowledges the trouble with measuring teacher effectiveness based on a single student exam.
The university’s Board of Trustees recently approved the policy change, which will allow each of its nine campuses to opt out of requiring prospective students to submit test scores.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the overall national results demonstrated a “student achievement crisis” that can’t be fixed by pouring more money into the traditional public school system.
Nearly two-thirds of all Indiana students in grades 3-8 did not pass the new state standardized test, called ILEARN, according to results released Wednesday. The latest test scores represent a 13 percentage point drop in the passage rate since last year.
The Indianapolis Academy of Excellence has endured a tumultuous year, including the loss of its curriculum provider in June and the exodus of about 20 students this month.
In the first major look at the results for innovation schools in IPS—a new kind of district-charter partnership—there are some positive signs but still some unanswered questions.
Only half of the state’s elementary and middle school students passed both English and math exams in 2018, but the results released Wednesday were worse for students of color.
More high school students were affected by grading problems involving this year’s ISTEP test than previously estimated, the Indiana Department of Education said Monday.
Results for the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus were supposed to be publicly released Wednesday, but vendor Pearson notified the department last week about two scoring issues.
It is unclear when test results will be released. Results had been expected to be made public next week.
An Indiana panel working to create new graduation guidelines for the state's high schools has recommended getting rid of the graduation qualifying exam requirement.
Indiana was set to move ahead with a new company to create a test to replace ISTEP, but a rejected competitor threw a wrench into the process.
State officials have approved a three-year contract with the Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research, picking it over four other bidders.
Indiana appears to have reached a new normal when it comes to ISTEP scores: For the third straight year, about half of the students taking the exam passed it.
State education officials say no sensitive data was improperly accessed and that steps are being taken to tighten security.
The state announced last week that it will begin accepting proposals through Aug. 24 for the new “ILEARN” testing system as well as the state’s third-grade reading exam, IREAD.
ISTEP scores for thousands of students across the state are set to be thrown out this year, including at two Indianapolis private schools, according to state officials.
The new test would be used for the first time in 2019, meaning ISTEP still has one more year of life.
