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.
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House panel backs moves to shorten student testing time
The House Education Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to advance a bill permitting some steps that Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz proposed last week.
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.
Pence orders shorter ISTEP+ exams after Ritz raises concerns
The governor announced Monday he would look for ways to curtail Indiana's revamped statewide assessment test from the up to 12½ hours it's been projected to take.
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.
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.
State senators pushing for new Indiana standardized tests
A bill sponsored by three Republican senators calls for the State Board of Education to revise Indiana's K-12 academic standards and select a nationally recognized set of exams for testing students by July 2016.
Teachers to receive $30 million in performance-based grants
The State of Indiana announced $30 million in grants Thursday to 1,317 schools around Indiana to reward their performance on the state standardized tests and graduation rates.
Charters’ grades fall, spurring concerns
The percentage of Marion County charter schools receiving a D or an F from state regulators has spiked from 30 percent two years ago to 54 percent this year.
Data deluge prompts teacher colleges to extend training after graduation
Rattled by new state teacher ratings, the colleges hope to avoid black eyes, themselves.
Indiana teachers face new standards, revised test
With the school year underway, teachers are still scrambling to bring themselves and their students up to speed on the state's new education standards only months before students take a revamped, high-stakes exam assessing their grasp of the new curriculum.
ISTA urges Pence to seek accountability delay
Indiana's largest teachers union is urging Gov. Mike Pence to support freezing the state's education accountability system for one year because of revisions to the ISTEP test being driven by the state's new academic standards.
Flanner House charter school to close after cheating allegations
The Flanner House Elementary charter school will close on Sept. 11 after the Indiana Department of Education found evidence of widespread cheating on the state standardized ISTEP test. The school has 176 students.
Teachers, students facing new state standards
Indiana teachers and students starting the new school year will have to quickly get up to speed on the state's new academic standards, drafted only months ago to replace the national Common Core standards.
Indiana agrees to $3M settlement in school test hitch
Indiana’s state schools superintendent says she has reached a $3 million settlement with CTB/McGraw-Hill after disruptions to standardized tests last year.
ISTEPs bring ‘mixed bag’ for Indiana charter schools
Performance among Indiana's charter schools on the 2014 ISTEP tests ran the gamut from low passing rates to rates similar to the state's best public schools.
Indiana students to face 2 new tests next 2 years
Major changes in the state's education policies will have Indiana students taking new, different standardized tests in each of the next two academic years, officials said Monday.
Some schools switch from online to paper tests
Fort Wayne Community Schools announced it has dropped the online version of the ISTEP following issues with a practice run last week, and Wayne Township schools in Indianapolis is also trading computer testing for traditional paper tests.