Honorable Members of the Indiana General Assembly and Members of the State Board of Education:
The superintendents of Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS) District I School Corporations want to make you aware of some serious concerns we have regarding the status and use of the current assessment system in Indiana. While we are firmly committed to accountability at every level, we believe the high stakes ISTEP+ assessment system that is used to measure student achievement, evaluate teacher performance and effectiveness, and grade our schools, does not accurately reflect the teaching and learning that takes place every day in our public schools.
Whether the state continues to mandate ISTEP+ or a similar test by a different name, the use of a one-time test does not and cannot accurately reflect the achievement and growth of our students, the performance of our teachers and quality of our schools. Our teachers regularly monitor the learning taking place in their classrooms via locally developed and nationally recognized assessments that provide immediate results which are used to drive instruction. Receiving ISTEP+ test results six months – or more – after the test was given is almost useless.
In each of the past two school years, significant changes were made to the current ISTEP+ test. The rush to make these changes, without providing educators ample time to “retool” curriculum and instruction in the classroom, resulted in lower test scores across the state in all tested subjects at all tested grade levels and an unnecessary decline in school and school corporation grades across Indiana.
Inconsistencies within the test itself make it very difficult, if not impossible, to use those test results in a meaningful way. Attempting to compare test scores and passing rates (i.e. student achievement) from one year to the next, especially when the spring 2016 test changed significantly from the previous year, is problematic at best.
For the reasons stated above, we support HEA 1395 that called for the end of ISTEP+ at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. It is extremely disappointing that the committee charged with finding and recommending a replacement for the ISTEP+ fiasco chose not to make a recommendation that would resolve issues associated with our broken and irreparable assessment system. Reportedly, several meaningful options were not allowed to be presented and/or discussed by the committee during their deliberations. If true, such actions are sad and frustrating. Maintaining the status quo with ISTEP+ will only continue to project a tainted and inaccurate assessment of the achievements of our students, teachers and public schools.
If the objective of our state’s high stakes accountability system is to accurately report student achievement to the public, then the data from the currently flawed system must not be used. We respectfully request our elected officials and members of the State Board of Education to ignore the most recent results of the totally broken ISTEP+ assessment and not use them to place letter grades on our schools. The A-F grading system needs to be suspended again and schools need to be provided with a hold harmless provision regarding the results of the 2015- 2016 ISTEP+ assessment, similar to what was done last year.
Signed: District I Superintendents
Michelle Riise Argos Community Schools Nathan Kleefisch MSD of Boone Township James White Bremen Public Schools Lucinda Douglass Caston School Corporation Teresa Eineman Crown Point Community School Corporation Chuck Kitchell Culver Community Schools Corporation David Pruis Duneland School Corporation Paige McNulty School City of East Chicago Rod Gardin East Porter School Corporation Dan Foster Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation Pete Morikis Griffith Public Schools Walter Watkins School City of Hammond Tom Taylor Hanover Community School Corporation Brian Smith School Town of Highland Peggy Buffington School City of Hobart Aaron Case Kankakee Valley Schools A.J. Gappa Knox Community School Corporation Larry Veracco Lake Central School Corporation Sharon Johnson-Shirley Lake Ridge Schools Tom Cripliver Lake Station Community Schools Mark Francesconi LaPorte Community School Corporation Jeff Studebaker Merrillville Community School Corporation Jeff Hendrix School Town of Munster Curtiss Strietelmeier MSD of New Durham Township Paul White New Prairie United School Corporation Annette Zupin North Judson-San Pierre Schools Destin Haas North Newton School Corporation Donald Harman Oregon-Davis School Corporation Daniel Tyree Plymouth Community School Corporation Richard Weigel Portage Township Schools Stacey Schmidt Porter Township School Corporation Ned Speicher Rensselaer Central School Corporation Steve Disney River Forest Community School Corporation Jana Vance Rochester Community School Corporation Linda Wiltfong South Central Community School Corporation Kenneth Rudnick South Newton School Corporation Debra Howe Tri-Creek School Corporation Donna Burroughs Triton School Corporation Tim Somers Tri-Township Consolidated School Corporation John Hunter Union Township School Corporation Ric Frataccia Valparaiso Community Schools Don Street West Central School Corporation Cynthia Scroggins School City of Whiting
"We respectfully request our elected officials and members of the State Board of Education to ignore the most recent results of the totally broken ISTEP+ assessment and not use them to place letter grades on our schools. The A-F grading system needs to be suspended again and schools need to be provided with a hold harmless provision regarding the results of the 2015- 2016 ISTEP+ assessment, similar to what was done last year."
