Why teachers will likely grade ISTEP replacement test
As major decisions loom in replacing the ISTEP student test, one change seems certain: Hoosier teachers are likely to play a role in grading the new exam.
A top lawmaker said involving teachers in scoring would build trust in the new test after concerns over the legitimacy of past results. The proposal by Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, would mark a shift in the way Indiana determines scores. Currently, the ISTEP is graded by the state’s testing vendor, which hires evaluators who don’t have to come from a teaching background.
“It brings more confidence in the (teaching) field if they know Hoosier educators are the ones actually grading it,” Behning said, “as opposed to someone hired off of Craigslist.”
Behning, an education policy leader, said the state would compensate teachers for scoring and make participation optional. Other states, including Kansas, have embraced the strategy of having teachers score essays and other open-ended items.
Going that route could improve the way content is taught to students, said Marianne Perie, a testing expert with the Center for Assessment and Accountability Research and Design. But the state could experience less consistency among graders and slower scoring, Perie said. That presents a potential consequence for Indiana, where education leaders have said they want a quicker turnaround in results than the current monthslong wait.
Yet the benefits to teachers and students could outweigh any downsides, she said. A 2004 study from Washington state that Perie has cited in her research found when teachers were involved in scoring, student performance on the test improved.
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“The focus truly is on teaching what we want our kids to learn and making sure our teachers are better,” said Perie, who has advised Indiana on its new test. “This is such a rich professional development opportunity.”
A local teachers union leader expects her colleagues would be receptive to the idea. But Janet Chandler, president of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, said teachers are more concerned with the test's length and the types of questions asked than with who handles the scoring.
“I certainly trust teachers to grade,” Chandler said.
The state has paid private vendor Pearson Education $32 million to administer the test for two years. Pearson requires its scorers to have a four-year degree, “many of whom have teaching experience,” said Scott Overland, a company spokesman.
Behning envisions teachers scoring outside of school hours and being paid per question. The cost of having teachers grade the test isn't immediately known.
Last year, the state launched a review of a computer glitch that might have inadvertently changed scores on the 2015 ISTEP. The review found the alleged scoring errors had “no discernible impact” on results but that errors on individual student exams could not be ruled out. Testing giant CTB/McGraw Hill handled the scoring of that year’s test.
Lawmakers will debate a new standardized test during the upcoming legislative session that begins in January. A panel formed after the state chose to dump ISTEP recommended limiting standardized tests to once at the end of the school year. But the panel, whose membership included school administrators, teachers and lawmakers, didn’t offer a specific way forward after seven months of meetings.
IndyStar reporter Tony Cook contributed to this story.
Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea.