EDUCATION

New vendor, but ISTEP concerns linger

Kris Turner
kris.turner@indystar.com

A new company is slated to administer the ISTEP exam this year, but concerns already are looming about whether the test will go off without a hitch.

Last year’s ISTEP exam, which ballooned from about six hours to 12, caused a wave of panic among parents, school administrators and state officials. Although the test was shortened by three hours and five minutes in a last-minute compromise, the concern surrounding it is still fresh in Hoosiers’ minds.

On the heels of the testing problems, the state ditched CTB/McGraw-Hill as the ISTEP vendor and opted to go with Pearson Education Inc. in March. But that selection comes with baggage, as well.

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing, which works to end the misuse and flaws in standardized testing, has identified 43 issues with Pearson-administered tests since 2000. Those issues include scoring errors, computer glitches and testing delays.

For instance, in Minnesota this year state-mandated examinations were put on hold after schools experienced repeated glitches.

Douglas Kubach, president of Pearson’s school group, said the company has launched a new testing program that nullified past glitches; it will be in place during the spring 2016 ISTEP exam. Testing in Indiana, he said, should go smoothly.

He said Pearson’s new testing system was used to deliver the ACT, which is more than 25 million examinations, and it didn’t experience any significant issues during the test.

“We’re very confident our system will successfully deliver the ISTEP tests,” he said.

The state was aware of previous issues with Pearson’s performance, but state regulations do not allow past performance to be considered in evaluating competitive bids.

ISTEP grading struggles delay test results

Cari Whicker, a member of the Indiana State Board of Education who was on the committee that helped select Pearson, said she was disappointed that state officials couldn’t use every resource at their disposal to vet testing vendors. Past performance should be an item that is weighed in the decision-making process, she said.

“I would never shop somewhere if I’d have had previous poor experiences there and it is unfortunate that’s the process the state uses,” said Whicker, who is contemplating a run against Democrat Glenda Ritz as the Republican candidate for state superintendent of public instruction. “It’s bureaucracy. It is years of work to change that process because I even asked in one of our state board meetings, ‘How do we change the process?’

“At some point, it’s worth it because we don’t shop for our personal lives that way.”

The ISTEP exam that will be administered this spring will be similar to the test that was given last year and should be shorter, said Daniel Altman, spokesman for the Indiana Department of Education, which oversees the statewide exam.

Indiana owns all of its standardized tests and the materials associated with them. Although Pearson will administer the ISTEP next spring, it will use questions created and tested by CTB/McGraw-Hill earlier this year.

“Obviously, we expect from any of our vendors that the testing environment runs as smoothly as possible for our students,” Altman said. “That’s the expectation of the department for the ISTEP this year.”

The department has begun discussions with Pearson, whose estimated $38.1 million contract still is being finalized. Altman said the relationship has been “productive.”

The test, however, will not go through a dry run in the fall, which worries some state officials. That decision lies in the hands of the Department of Education.

Whicker, a teacher at Riverview Middle School in Huntington, said doing a mock version of the test would be helpful to the state and schools, so that everyone could get a chance to see what works and if there’s anything that needs to be refined.

“Doing a stress test or trying to run technology a week or two before the test is stressful on the kids and everybody,” she said. “The more we can be doing now would certainly help our teachers and kids later.”

Administering a practice test in the fall just makes sense, said Gordon Hendry, a member of the State Board of Education.

“The Department of Education develops and administers the test. However, many on the board, including myself, would like to see the department and Pearson pilot the test for next spring to work out any bugs or technical issues in advance,” he said. “Unfortunately, I think they’re refusing to do that.”

Altman said the department doesn’t feel a mock test is necessary and stressed that the ISTEP will not contain new material — like it did last year to comply with new statewide education standards — and shouldn’t be problematic.

Whicker, who said she was optimistic the state owned enough testing material to create a valid ISTEP exam, said it boils down to one thing: “I just want that testing company to work as hard as the kids are working.”

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Search a database of 2014 Indiana ISTEP scores

Call Star reporter Kris Turner at (317) 444-6047. Follow him on Twitter: @krisnturner.