Freshman Jake Pearson sits on the back of the football team bus on the way to Homestead for the Regional Championships; however, something is on his mind.

“Trust me, I love watching sports-related videos,” he said. “But right now, with the changes (to testing) that are being made, I really wish I could study.”

Pearson is not alone. After the Indiana General Assembly voted in favor of the changes, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) released new ISTEP+ tests to match the new state standards and give faculty better feedback on students. Starting with the Class of 2019, students will take the ISTEP+ for Biology 1, English 10 and math instead of their ECA counterparts. Current sophomores will also take the English 10 and math tests later this semester.

Amanda Pond, supervisor of learning for Carmel Clay Schools, said, “We are trying to measure growth over time with these new tests, so … we have added more rigor to our tests as well as created a math and language arts test for 10th graders. Although it is only for this year, we are testing ninth graders too.”

The first part of the ISTEP+ test, a 40-minute handwritten math portion, will begin on Feb. 29 and will be administered to all sophomores during SRT. Starting March 2, students will take the English ISTEP+ tests during English 10 classes in computer labs over the span of two days. The science portion, which all freshmen enrolled in biology classes will take, will start March 8. Those enrolled in English 10 this year will also be required to take the English 10 ECA starting May 9.

Assistant Principal Bradley Sever said his main concern currently is arranging test schedules.

“The way it works is that the IDOE says that for each part of the ISTEP, you get this window to finish it in. Then, I think about what’s going to be the least amount of disruption for CHS,” he said. “The next thing I have to do is … come up with a computer lab schedule, so I break it down by period. I (have) to make sure that the computer lab that I assign classes to correspond with class size.”

In addition to the logistics of test taking, some teachers and proctors said they are worried about this new addition to high school standardized testing. English teacher Kristin Lentz said she thinks the new tests will only make things more complicated.

“I think we have too much standardized testing, and I think trying to prepare kids for that in addition to governing the curriculum is going to be challenging,” Lentz said. “When it comes to computerized testing, many teachers like to use the Freshman Center because it has two computer labs on every floor … We teachers (in the Freshman Center) then lose that time to let students work on projects.”

English teacher Jana Cosler said she sympathizes with students’ frustrations about the sudden change.

“I know very little info on these changes—the state is still making decisions—so without a proper way to teach, it’s just frustrating,” she said. “It also does not align with the Common Core standards, which makes it even more frustrating for me as a teacher … Considering my current students will serve as ‘guinea pigs’ for these changes … I feel bad for the sophomores who take both (the ECA and the ISTEP).”

According to Sever, the IDOE gave him information as late as Feb. 3, but he said he has faith in teachers here to adapt. “I just think it’s really great that our staff, when something like this happens, they’re willing to roll their sleeves up and be problem-solvers,” he said.

Lentz said she hopes the new revisions will provide faster feedback than the previous ISTEP+ tests.

“By the time the results come back (from previous ISTEPs), we have already finished scheduling for students and the information becomes invalid,” she said. “As long as the test (for this year) gives immediate feedback with important results, I’m on board with it.”

Sever said time can  only tell whether the implementation of the ISTEP+ is a change for the better.

“Since we haven’t really seen the ISTEP tests yet, I think it’s hard to judge (whether the ISTEP is an improvement), so I think it’s kind of a wait-and-see,” he said.

Pearson said he hopes that as the changes become clearer, he will be able to study more efficiently.

“When you know what to expect, it’s easier to study,” Pearson said. “I honestly hope that these changes are worth it.”

To read the latest update on the story, click on this link:

https://hilite.org/archives/45919