WABASH, Ind. – The MSD of Wabash County School Board received a preliminary report on its 2016 ISTEP scores Tuesday night, Sept. 13, however the news was not entirely positive.
Tim Drake, MSD Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, informed the MSD School Board of the exam scores’ preliminary release and confirmed the official scores will be embargoed until October.
MSD’s 10th grade scores will be lower compared to other grades, Drake told the Board.
“Those are going to be significantly lower across the state,” he said. “Last year, we piloted the ISTEP 10 for Pearson, which is the new test vendor. … At the 10th grade level last year, 10th graders up until this year have had to pass what we call the ECAs (End of Course Assessments).
“Well last year’s 10th grades had the luck of taking the ECAs, which they had to take to graduate, and also taking this pilot ISTEP test, which they did not have to take to graduate. However, the State of Indiana … said we will judge our schools based on their ISTEP rates.
“So the test that was really meaningless to the student … is what our 10th grade students will be held accountable to,” he continued. “Any ways, the scores are going to be very low. … It appears that our scores are on par with the region, but they are embarrassingly low and I would argue that the test was designed to do that.”
The ISTEP exam, Indiana’s standardized assessment, will determine the MSD schools’ – Northfield and Southwood – accountability grades. However, Drake said he does not think it’s an accurate test to grade a school by.
In 2015, late changes made to the exam and distribution problems led to big drops in student scores that year and caused discord among state and local educators.
This year, MSD’s administration opted to use the paper form of the exam for several reasons, according to Drake.
“The year before, we had heard that written tests were scored more favorably than online, particularly in the written assignments,” he said. “So we as a district went all paper and pencil last year and I foresee us doing that again.”
The assistant superintendent said he hopes the state will agree to use a different exam.
“In my new position, I really see how resources are tight and the state allocates hundreds of those dollars testing and we can’t fully fund all these other wonderful programs,” Drake told The Paper of Wabash County, “so it makes you stop and think, ‘Ok what’s the purpose of testing?’ You want it to be for the purpose of giving good feedback to teachers so they can act on it and that kind of thing.
“Well when the results come back and they pull it back to re-grade the score and then they don’t release the rates until the kids have already gone onto the next grade level, I think you really start to see some issues of really what’s the function of the test.”
This will possibly be the last year for ISTEP, but it’s at the mercy of the Indiana General Assembly to vote and officially do away with it, according to Drake.
The community should contact their local legislatures and voice their displeasure, Drake said.
“Encourage them to look for other options,” he continued.