INDIANAPOLIS —
Indiana’s relentless push to improve the standardized test scores of its schoolchildren seems to be paying off: The state is reporting another year of record-breaking scores.
At a news conference this morning, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett said 71 percent of the nearly 500,000 students who took the ISTEP-plus test in the spring passed both the math and English/language portions of the test.
That’s a gain of one percentage point over last year and 8 percentage points since the 2008-09 school year. It’s also the third successive year that students’ passing rates have gone up on every portion of the test, which is administered to students in grades 3 to 8.
The 71 percent mark falls far short of the goal of a 90 percent pass rate that Bennett has been pushing for since he took office in 2005, but it didn’t seem to dampen his enthusiasm.
“Hoosiers from all walks of life should greet this news with a standing ovation,” Bennett said in a statement accompanying the release of the test scores. “More students are getting a world-class education in our schools.”
Bennett credited “Indiana’s great teachers” for educating “a new generation of leaders and innovators who will build a more prosperous future for our state.”
Those teachers are watching the test scores with some wariness. Under a “merit pay” law passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2010, the test scores of their students now play a role in how those teachers are evaluated and paid.
The ISTEP test scores are also a critical component of the Indiana Department of Education’s accountability model, which assigns schools and school districts grades of A through F.
Scores matter, but under the “growth model” used to evaluate both teacher pay and school grades, progress does, too. As critical as the the number of students who pass ISTEP is whether scores are improving from year to year.
Bennett invited administrators from several schools that had seen dramatic progress on their test scores to the news conference. Among them was Thomas Sims, the first-year principal of the Dickinson Fine Arts Academy in South Bend. Sims came to a school that had seen years of dismal ISTEP-plus scores and was on the verge of being taken over by the state if its poor performance continued.
Under Sims, the school achieved greater gains than any other middle school in the state; 26 percent more of its students passed both the math and English/language arts portions of the test this past spring than the year before. “We decided we weren’t going to be the underdog anymore,” Sims said.
Bennett noted that 77 percent of Dickinson’s students were on the free or reduced lunch program, an indicator of poverty. Historically, students who come from low-income families have lower scores on standardized tests. Sims said the school overcame that obstacle by setting high standards for its students, closely monitoring their progress, and intervening with students who needed help to catch up.
Also at the event was Lee Begle, principal of Ferdinand Elementary School in Dubois County, which had the highest ISTEP-plus pass rate for the second year in a row. Ninety-nine percent of its students passed the math and English/language arts sections of the test.
Begle praised his school’s teachers and students for their hard work, but said his school didn’t face the same obstacles that many of the lowest-scoring schools do. Ferdinand Elementary has a low percent of students on the free and reduced lunch program, strong community support, and a high rate of parent participation.
“It’s a piece of cake when you’ve got that kind of support,” Begle said. He also took the opportunity to verbally nudge a couple of legislators who attended the news conference, by urging them to continue to support state funding for full-day kindergarten — added just this year — and to consider putting state dollars into pre-K education.
There is still a sizable achievement gap for students considered most at-risk for dropping out of school: Statewide, only 47 percent of students who don’t speak English as their native tongue — and are classified as English language learners — passed both the math and English/language arts portion of the test. Only 59 percent of students who come from low-income families — who qualify for free or reduced lunch prices — passed both the key portions of the test.
Still, both those passing rates are better than years past. In the 2008-09 school year, only 34 percent of students who were English language learners passed both the key portions of ISTEP-plus; and only 48 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch passed both the math and English/language arts portions of the test that year.
The passing rates for Hispanic students, black students and those classified as “special education” students have also been steadily climbing, but still fall behind the pass rates for students who are white, who don’t have special needs and whose families aren’t living in poverty.
Bennett spoke briefly about a cheating scandal involving standardized tests at an Indianapolis high school. The state Department of Education is investigating allegations that a group of biology teachers at North Central High School used answers to test questions from a state biology exam to create test-preparation materials to boost their students’ scores.
Bennett said it was the “most egregious” case of cheating he’d ever seen. “I intend to hold people accountable for harming children,” Bennett said.
High school students no longer take the ISTEP tests, but they do take “end of course assessments” in English, algebra and biology after completing instruction in those subjects.
If they don’t pass English and math ECAs, they must a obtain a waiver from their schools to graduate. To earn a waiver, seniors who haven’t passed the ECA in math or English must show they had 95 percent attendance and had a C average in that subject. If they took the test every time it was offered, completed extra help sessions offered at school and earned a recommendation from a teacher and the principal, they may still graduate.
ISTEP-plus, which stands for Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress Plus, is given each spring to students in grades 3 through 8. Prior to 2009, the test was administered in the fall of each school year.
More than 329,000 students, about 66 percent of test-takers, took the multiple choice portions of the test online. That’s a big jump up from 2010, when only about 15,000 students took the test online.
All students are tested in reading and math, while science also is tested in grades 4 and 6 and social studies knowledge is tested in grades 5 and 7.
Maureen Hayden is the Indiana Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
Top Story
Related Photos
-
Maureen Hayden
Discussion
Update: Indiana sees continued rise in ISTEP scores
- Top Story
-
-
Court lets walk-out fines against House Democrats stand
INDIANAPOLIS — House Democrats who had to pay more than $100,000 in fines after they walked out of the Indiana Statehouse won’t get the help they sought from the Indiana Supreme Court.
-
Reputed Mafioso tip triggers new Hoffa body search
OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The FBI saw enough merit in a reputed Mafia captain’s tip to once again break out the digging equipment to search for the remains of former Teamsters union leader Jimmy Hoffa, last seen alive before a lunch meeting with two mobsters nearly 40 years ago.
-
10 things to know for Tuesday
Your daily look at late-breaking Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about across the nation today:
-
Husband charged in Archer homicide
Terre Haute Police have found local reports of domestic violence between a Terre Haute man and his wife, whose body was discovered wrapped in a tarp and dumped in an Ohio ditch.
-
BREAKING: Arrest made in Archer homicide
A Terre Haute man has been arrested and charged with felony murder and altering the scene of a death in the homicide of his wife, Kayla Herchelroath Archer.
-
No ID yet on body found in Rosedale home
Sheriff Mike Eslinger said his department is waiting to obtain an immediate family’s confirmation of a woman found dead in a home in the 2900 block of West Rosehill Lane.
-
Police investigating Rosedale homicide
Parke County authorities are investigating a homicide at Rosedale.
Sheriff Mike Eslinger confirmed Friday afternoon that police had been called to a home in the 2900 block of West Rosehill Lane on a report of a dead person. -
Homicide suspect’s father: ‘I am so sorry’
The father of a Jasonville man charged with murder broke down in tears following his son’s appearance in Greene Superior Court on Friday morning.
-
BREAKING: Suspects in death of Linton teen arraigned in court
A week after Katelyn Wolfe went missing in Linton, the men accused of killing her appeared in court.
-
Katelyn Wolfe homicide: Affidavit alleges men’s scheme
Two friends from childhood allegedly had devised a plan over the course of about a week to rape and kill someone — without having a particular target — before causing Linton teenager Katelyn Wolfe’s death last week, according to court documents released Thursday.
-
End of an era: WTHI-TV anchor Allen has come long way since debut in 1967
Reflecting on his career at WTHI-TV, Jim Swander pokes fun at retiring news anchor Mark Allen saying, “He has made millions by reading a teleprompter at a sixth-grade level.”
-
Police: Suspects posted on Linton teen's Facebook page 'to cover their tracks'
Two childhood friends, over the course of about a week, allegedly devised a plan to rape and kill someone prior to the killing of Linton teenager Katelyn Wolfe, according to court documents released today.
-
UPDATE: 1 dead, 73 hurt in La. plant explosion
GEISMAR, La. — An ground-rattling explosion at a chemical plant in Louisiana ignited a blaze Thursday that killed at least one person and left dozens more hurt, officials said.
-
UPDATE: Suspect in late-night standoff arrested, to appear in court
A Terre Haute man wanted for a late Wednesday standoff with police has been arrested and is due to appear in court this morning.
-
No suspect found after Maple Avenue standoff
A man police identified as Jeremy Ross of Terre Haute remained at large late Wednesday night after reports of gunfire brought dozens of police to a Maple Avenue home for a multi-hour siege of an apartment house.
-
UPDATE: Semi overturns at Lyford; Mecca man airlifted to Indy hospital
A Parke County man was airlifted to Methodist Hospital this afternoon after he crashed his semitrailer on U.S. 41 just north of Lyford.
-
UPDATE: Missing Terre Haute woman found
A Terre Haute woman who was reported missing earlier today by the Greene County Sheriff’s Department has been found.
-
Analysts: Midwest drivers to see lower gas prices
LANSING, Mich. — The worst may be over for drivers in the upper Midwest who have been grappling with the highest gasoline prices in the continental U.S.
-
Unusually massive line of storms aim at Midwest
WASHINGTON — A gigantic line of powerful thunderstorms could affect one in five Americans on Wednesday as it rumbles from Iowa to Maryland packing hail, lightning and tree-toppling winds.
-
Coroner: Linton teen victim of homicide
Linton teenager Katelyn Wolfe died of asphyxiation in a “manner that is ruled a homicide” Linton Police Chief Troy Jerrell said Tuesday night after an autopsy was performed earlier in the day at Terre Haute Regional Hospital by forensic pathologist Dr. Roland Kohr.
-
Apple revamps look of iPhone, iPad software
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is throwing out most of the real-world graphical cues from its iPhone and iPad software, like the casino-green "felt" of its Game Center app, in what it calls the biggest update since the iPhone's launch in 2007.
-
Feds back morning-after pill for all girls
NEW YORK — After setting off a storm of criticism from abortion rights groups upset that a Democratic president had sided with social conservatives, the Obama administration said it will comply with a judge's order to allow girls of any age to buy emergency contraception without prescriptions.
-
VIDEO: Apple unveils new MacBook Air with improved battery life
At Apple's WWDC, the company shows off its new line of MacBook Air laptops with faster processors and improved battery life. The new models are available in 11-inch and 13-inch dimensions, ranging in price from $999 to $1,299.
-
Fair Association highlights attractions
In less than a month, the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds will be awash in 4-H projects, carnival rides, cotton candy and entertainment as the 2013 Vigo County Fair runs July 7 to 13.
-
Ohio man faces 329 charges in missing women case
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man accused of holding three women captive in his run-down home in Cleveland for a decade and fathering a child with one of them has been indicted on 329 charges including murder, kidnapping and rape, prosecutors said.
-
How will you spend your time this summer? Check out 'BASH for ideas
Art, music, reading -- What's your summer escape?
-
I-70 accident snarls traffic for hours
An accident involving a semi-trailer containing hazardous materials shut down eastbound Interstate 70 in Vigo County from near the Illinois state line to Indiana 46 for about six hours Thursday.
-
MARK BENNETT: Time for surf, sand and a good book
I can read a book on the beach. Until I start sweating. Then it feels like exercise, minus the fitness perks. My brain shifts into neutral as the waves roll in, blissfully washing away footprints in the sand and my inclination to think. Better put, I enjoy starting a book on the beach, and finishing it later, elsewhere.
-
Deacon Jones of famed Fearsome Foursome dead at 74
David “Deacon” Jones, the original sackmaster, has died.
The Hall of Fame defensive end, credited with coining the word “sack” for how he knocked down quarterbacks, was 74. -
Dugger couple claims big Hoosier Lottery prize
Linda and Joe Mentillo of Dugger have claimed a big Hoosier Lottery prize.
The 67-year-old Linda bought a winning $5 Cash For Life scratch-off ticket on Saturday at the Pimento Sunoco gasoline station. - More Top Story Headlines
-
Tiger on Sergio: 'It's Time to Move On'
Robot Action Connected to Human Thought
NYC 911 Call Lasts for 8 Hours
Rain Damages Brazil Soccer Stadium
RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled
California Cops Cruise on Stand-up Paddle Patrol
Falling Cable Hurts 10 NASCAR Fans
Obama: US Has Helped Syrian Rebels
Raw: 100K Protesters Flood Brazilian Streets
Raw: First Lady, Daughters Enjoy Irish Sights
3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail
Afghan Forces Take Afghanistan Security Lead
Obama: NSA Secret Data Gathering 'Transparent'
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex
Transgender Candidate Running in NYC
Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades
Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City
Boeing, Airbus Battle for Sales Supremacy
Spurs' Popovich has no problem with Spurs' intensity
Inside Kim Kardashian's Premature Labor
Three Charged for Enslaving Mother and Daughter
Paige Butcher Scorches on Hawaii Beach
Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane
Never-before-seen footage of '08 Times Square bomber
WATCH IT: Lil Wayne tramples American flag
Mariah Carey Looks Beautiful in a Tiny Cut-Out Swimsuit
Out of Control Boat Throws Passengers Overboard
See Lindsay Lohan in Rehab
Sofia Vergara Posts Perky Backside Pic in Thong
Gaga Ditches Her Crazy Couture
Caught on Tape: Teacher Accused of Beating Autistic Child
"Stay Classy" Campaign Aims to Curb Binge Drinking
Sesame Street Tackling Tough Topic Parents in Jail
Miss Utah Fumbles Interview Question
Deranged man claims Newark-bound flight was poisoned
