POLITICS

Concerns swirl as ISTEP issues come to light

Chelsea Schneider, and Tony Cook
IndyStar

State leaders from both parties demanded additional information Monday and called for reforms to Indiana’s high-stakes ISTEP exam in the wake of an Indianapolis Star investigation that found a computer malfunction may have botched scoring on an undetermined number of student tests.

House Speaker Brian Bosma called the handling of the test a mess and joined a chorus of others — including the state’s largest teacher’s union — in calling for an alternative to the ISTEP.

“The administration (of the test) has been nothing short of a disaster, I would say, and it is time to change,” he said. “We got to have a test that is concise, that is real time, that keeps testing to a minimum for our students but yet is effective in measuring improvement.”

Gov. Mike Pence, meanwhile, said he shared the concerns of parents and teachers who expressed outrage over allegations that the company in charge of the exam — testing giant CTB McGraw Hill — may have left incorrect scores in place even after being warned about the computer problem.

We believe in accountability, but we have got to have confidence in the test that’s been administered and the results we derive from that test,” Pence said. “We’re looking into it. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz remained publicly silent on the issue, but her spokesperson said Monday that the Department of Education is awaiting answers to several questions sent to the company last week. The questions surround the number of students and schools that could have been affected by the computer malfunction.

An Indianapolis Star investigation published Sunday found that scores on thousands of ISTEP exams could be incorrect. Scoring supervisors for CTB McGraw Hill told the Star that a computer malfunction may have inadvertently changed scores on thousands of ISTEP tests, but that the company decided to leave those potentially faulty scores in place.

Bangert: The ISTEP dumpster fire

The company downplayed the problem in a letter to the Department of Education last week, saying the malfunction was rare and did not affect student scores.

Ellen Haley, executive vice president for the testing company, did not return an interview request Monday.

Bosma’s call for a new test echoes concerns from other lawmakers, who over the past months have questioned the amount Hoosier students are tested and the cost of those assessments.

The scoring problems also bolster the arguments of those who oppose using ISTEP as a factor in determining teacher pay and school A-F accountability grades.

Ritz, whose department oversees the $23.9 million contract with CTB McGraw Hill to administer the ISTEP, will not be available for interviews this week, according to a department spokesperson.

The glitch left some education leaders questioning the Department of Education’s oversight of the contract.

“What kind of department oversight was there? Should the department not have been more on top of it? When we hire vendors…it’s like building a house. You wouldn’t say ‘go build a house and see you in six months.’ Most people are constantly inspecting, so I would assume there was some oversight by the department,” said state Rep. Robert Behning, an Indianapolis Republican.

A Ritz spokesperson said the department remained committed to “ensuring all students received full credit for their work” during last spring’s test.

“With respect to any criticisms, we take any allegations regarding ISTEP+ seriously. We learned of this allegation through an anonymous letter and immediately asked CTB to look in to the matter.  When we heard back from CTB, we asked for more information and assurances and we are awaiting their response,” said Daniel Altman, a spokesman for Ritz.

But given the company’s past track record, one member of the State Board of Education said he’s not holding his breath. The department is already seeking damages from CTB because of the delay in receiving test results, which are typically released in the summer but are now anticipated to be made public in January.

Computer glitch could have misscored thousands of ISTEP tests, scoring supervisors say

“I’m not sure we could trust what their results may be. Where do we go from there? I’m not sure,” Steve Yager, a retired school superintendent and member of the Indiana State Board of Education, said.

The president of the Indiana State Teachers Association said the newest glitch should lead the state to reconsider its testing programs.

“A lot of people are very concerned,” said Teresa Meredith. She called for a pause in the use of ISTEP in teacher and school evaluations for at least a year. "And it really ought to make the state… totally reconsider what we are doing and how we are doing it,” she said.

An evaluator discovered the computer problems on April 22, eight days after CTB began scoring ISTEP. The glitch affected open-ended questions that are each assigned two scores during the grading process, supervisors told The Star.

When the evaluator used the computer’s keypad to enter the two scores in quick succession, the second score would replace the first score. So a test question that should have received a score of 6 and 3 could end up with a score of 3 and 3.

Edward Roeber, a testing consultant for the state, said CTB could look at the extent to which the first and second score on a test question agree and how those scores compared before and after the glitch was discovered.

But he said the information could be difficult to track since initial scoring occurred months ago.

Many Democrats want to dismiss the results completely.

“If we’ve got this much doubt as to the validity of the results,” said Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, “it seems to me we ought to step back and do the prudent thing which is to find some way around these results.”

Pulliam: ISTEP has outlived its usefulness

Call Star reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea. Call Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.