INDIANAPOLIS -- The committee tasked with replacing Indiana’s current suite of testing, including ISTEP, heard proposals Tuesday but won’t make a final decision until the last week of November -- just days before a legislatively imposed deadline.
It remains unclear exactly what the final proposal to lawmakers will be and how specific the committee will get in its recommendations. Committee Chair Nicole Fama, a principal in the Indianapolis Public Schools system, said she will work with the Indiana Legislative Services Agency over the next few days and send a final proposal to committee members. The committee will meet again on Nov. 29 for a final discussion and vote.
During Tuesday’s meeting, State Superintendent Glenda Ritz outlined her proposed plan which would eliminate IREAD and focus the statewide assessment on math and reading. She said the plan has gotten 7,000 comments from parents and teachers around the state who are in favor of the proposed changes.
That plan seemed too specific for Fama, who after Ritz had wrapped up her presentation said she doesn’t want to get too detailed in the committee’s final report.
“Our recommendations are going to be very broad,” Fama said. “From what I understand, this is just the first step of the process.”
Fama said the charge to the committee, as she read it, was to propose some broad changes and let the General Assembly take it from there. Those comments drew immediate blowback from most of the committee members, who want to make some very specific recommendations.
Scot Croner, the superintendent of Blackford County schools, said the committee needs to get specific to give lawmakers a clear direction.
“I’ve had conversations with my local legislators,” Croner said. “They want specifics. They want a detailed plan.”
Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, who is also on the committee, agreed with Croner. He said lawmakers don’t have the time or experience to really delve into specific conversations regarding testing that the committee has had over this seven-month process.
Committee members seem to agree on some things, including a shorter test, local control and decoupling teacher evaluations from test results. What the final recommendation looks like is still anyone’s guess.
There’s a chance the state might make some tweaks but largely end up the current testing suite. Ed Roeber, a member of Indiana’s Technical Advisory Committee, testified before the committee that he's worried about the idea of completely scrapping what the state is doing now in favor of something unproven.
“I think it’s too big a risk thinking a summative assessment will be created and ready to go,” Roeber said. “You’re risking a lot of turmoil if it doesn’t work.”
Ritz said it sounded like Roeber was advocating for the status quo, with which she said no one in Indiana is happy.
The current plan is for Indiana schools to implement a new statewide test by the 2018-19 school year.