State panel backs shorter ISTEP exams without saying how

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photo of Testing expert Ed Roeber who traveled to Indiana Tuesday to speak with the panel rewriting the state’s assessment. (photo from Indiana Public Media)

A state committee wants shorter tests to replace Indiana’s troubled ISTEP student exams without specifying how to reach that goal.

The educator-dominated panel voted Tuesday to send recommendations to state legislators for revamping the state’s standardized exams now taken by more than 400,000 students a year.

Those recommendations include moving the testing period from its current March and April times into May to help stem classroom disruptions. The panel also calls for quicker grading of the tests.

Outgoing state schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz voted against the recommendations, calling them a status quo.  She says the ISTEP panel hasn’t done any favors for students or parents commenting that testing will continue Indiana’s reliance on teaching to the test

State legislators say a deadline to replace ISTEP for the 2017-18 school year will likely be pushed back.