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Last updated on Wednesday, January 6, 2016
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Indiana’s state superintendent is calling for an end to ISTEP just as new test results are being released.
The results are in and they aren't good. Overall, about half of Indiana's students failed the new, more rigorous exam.
"The way this test was changed and has been administered is unfair," Greater Clark County Schools superintendent Andrew Melin said.
Local superintendents airing their frustrations now that last spring's ISTEP test results are public.
Just 53.5 percent of Indiana students passed both the Math and English/Language Arts Sections. In North Lawrence Community School only 45.8 percent passed. In Mitchell Community Schools 46.4 percent passed.
In 2014, Indiana became the first state to pass a law doing away with the federal Common Core Education Standards, writing its own standards. Last year, students then took a new version of the ISTEP, but it's so different it can't even be compared to previous years' results.
Superintendents say the results aren't a true indication of student performance or the quality of instruction.
Their complaints include:
Now, state superintendent Glenda Ritz is calling for the end of ISTEP testing.
She says, "It's time for Indiana to move away from the costly, lengthy, pass/fail ISTEP+ assessment. The one-size-fits-all, high stakes approach of the ISTEP+ needs to end."
Students were also tested in the areas of science and social studies.
The ISTEP results can be found at http://www.doe.in.gov/accountability/find-school-and-corporation-data-reports
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