A review of documents showed a top education official made significant alterations to a report that detailed a so-called independent investigation into the unpopular standardized ISTEP+ exam for students.
A report summarizing what was billed as an independent investigation into Indiana's new, unpopular standardized student exam includes edits and suggested changes by a state administrator hired by Gov. Mike Pence's State Board of Education.
This year’s exam, created for the first time by the British testing company Pearson, will be largely administered on computers instead of on paper. That has educators—stung by a string of recent testing problems—on edge.
When the state released grades for the 2014-15 school year on Tuesday, it seemed clear that many schools benefited from a “hold harmless” bill that Gov. Mike Pence signed into law Thursday.
The measures were given final approval by the full House and Senate on Thursday, checking off a major priority for Gov. Mike Pence and fellow Republicans in the Legislature.
Some Indiana school officials say students ran into frozen screens and error messages Wednesday during a test run of the online ISTEP exam.
Whether the 2015 ISTEP should be re-scored due to well-documented problems with the roll-out and administration of the exam is once again pitting GOP leaders in the Legislature against Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz.
A bill speeding through the Legislature that would give schools relief from last year’s drop in ISTEP scores won’t offer much protection for the state’s most struggling schools.
A bill sparing Indiana schools from a drop in A-F grades resulting from this year's sharp decline in student ISTEP scores now goes to the full House for consideration after the chamber's education committee approved it Thursday.
Indiana lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved bills giving teachers and schools a one-year reprieve from being punished for poor student performance on ISTEP exams.
Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, said he wants to hire a contractor to re-score the 2015 ISTEP test, which he calls a “disaster.” Meanwhile, the House education committee approved a measure sparing teachers from having their performance pay reduced as a result of the scores.
Following ongoing controversy over tougher Indiana student assessments, the Indiana Department of Education on Wednesday released long-awaited statewide and local 2015 ISTEP scores.
Democrats and Republicans are backing a proposal expected to be considered by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. The bill proposes schools may not receive a lower grade for 2015 than they received in 2014.
A lack of consensus among Republicans on several issues—including questions about gay rights, transportation funding and ISTEP testing—looms large as lawmakers ready for the 2016 legislative session, which kicks off Tuesday.
Investigators found no evidence that students were given incorrect lower scores on this spring’s high-stakes ISTEP exam, according to state officials.
An idea to scrap Indiana’s state standardized test in favor of an “off-the-shelf” test could make a comeback during this year’s legislative session.
The Indiana Department of Education asked the company that scores the important standardized test for the number of test items and schools that may have been affected by a computer malfunction that could have caused results to be inadvertently changed.
House Education Committee chairman Robert Behning, an Indianapolis Republican, said he'll have a bill ready during the first weeks of the legislative session in January for a one-year suspension of ISTEP as part of teacher evaluations.
At issue this year is what to do about test-score-based school accountability measures now that the state is expecting much lower scores.
School leaders around Indiana have been increasing criticism of the state's standardized test as they brace for the release of scores that will show a double-digit drop in passing rates for students.
