POLITICS

Ritz: Feds require new ISTEP test in spring

Eric Weddle
eric.weddle@indystar.com

Indiana will have to impose a new statewide standardized test on K-12 students next year if it wants to maintain control over $200 million a year in federal education funding, state officials said Wednesday.

But at least one State Board of Education member questioned why the state would succumb to a federal demand to quickly change a high-stakes exam that helps determine if schools are taken over by the state for poor performance and if teachers receive a raise.

To avoid the consequences of anticipated lower scores on the new ISTEP exam, state superintendent Glenda Ritz asked the state board Wednesday to suspend for a year the state's school rating system and the use of test scores in teacher evaluations.

It was unclear Wednesday what authority the board has to make those moves. The plan would have to satisfy the state's school accountability law and appease federal education officials.

Ritz said the U.S Department of Education told her office the new test would be required if the state wants to maintain its waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind requirements that spell out the use of some federal funding and benchmarks for student pass rates.

Last month, the federal government made Indiana's waiver conditional on correcting problems found during a visit last year. The state Department of Education has until June 30 to submit fixes.

Ritz had planned for Indiana students in third through eighth grade to take a new test in 2015-16 after a year of practice field tests. But, she said., the U.S. Department of Education would not accept waiting another year for a test based on the state's new education standards.

The new exam would have to reflect new math and English standards adopted by the state this year to replace the national Common Core standards that some conservatives saw as an intrusion into state affairs. It will also be shift from the familiar, multiple-choice style ISTEP exam. Instead, students will be asked to write out their answers.

"We are going to a different type of rigor with our assessments, and it is expected that we will probably see a lessening in student performance," Ritz said. "That does have an impact on teacher evaluation as well as for accountability purposes."

Teresa Meredith, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said she was nervous about the stress the quick change to a new test will put on teachers and students.

"I would imagine some are scrambling to figure out how to prepare for new standards, figuring out the curriculum," she said. "And now they and their staff have to get ready for a test that they don't know what it looks like. I think, at the end of the day, students will be harmed somehow."

State board members appeared overwhelmed by the new developments during Wednesday's meeting and the deadlines ahead of them. Andrea Neal asked if protecting the waiver was worth giving up state autonomy.

Other board members, including Ritz and Brad Oliver, said the federal funding and its flexibility are vital for schools to achieve student success.

Ritz said she planned to prepare a response to the U.S. Department of Education by June 20 on how the state will fix problems with its waiver.

A special board meeting will be held after that to discuss the response before Ritz submits it on June 25.

Call Star reporter Eric Weddle at (317) 444-6222. Follow him on Twitter: @ericweddle.