Indy Star: Computer Error May Be Latest ISTEP Problem

By Mike Perleberg (Indianapolis, Ind.) - There may be yet another misstep with Indiana’s ISTEP+ test. The Indiana Department of Education has asked the company that scores the important standardized test for the number of test items and schools possibly affected by a computer malfunction. The error was reported in an Indianapolis Star investigation this week. The error may have caused inadvertent grade changes on an undetermined number of tests. According to the newspaper, scoring supervisors for CTB McGraw Hill blamed a computer malfunction may have inadvertently changed scores on thousands of tests. The company, however, decided to leave those potentially faulty scores in place. CTB McGraw Hill’s executive vice president, Ellen Haley, said in a letter to the IDOE that the issue “was very rare” and “did not affect student scores.” However, the Star cited several supervisors who said the problem was more widespread and pervasive enough to merit rescoring the potentially impacted tests. Indiana Governor Mike Pence told the Star that his administration would get to the bottom of it. “We believe in accountability, but we have got to have confidence in the test that’s been administered and the results we derive from that test,” Pence told the paper. This issue just the latest in a series of problems bringing the credibility of the ISTEP+ into question this year. Changes to the test administered to 3rd through 8th graders last spring may be responsible for causing statewide declines in passing percentages. State education leaders say the passing percentages are down by 24 percent on the math portion of the test and 16 percent on the English/language arts section. Test results usually released to the public in August are not expected until January. State lawmakers may consider in the 2016 legislative session bills that would suspend or reduce the ISTEP scores’ role in determining teacher pay and school A-F accountability grades. In calling for a change, House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) told the Indianapolis Star that the test’s mounting problems are “nothing short of a disaster.” Southeast Indiana K-12 education leaders have written letters to parents and their communities explaining the impact of the testing woes. Superintendents in Dearborn and Ohio counties issued a joint letter on December 4 calling the ISTEP+ an inaccurate reflection of students’ academic achievement and the quality of teaching in the classroom. RELATED STORIES: Letter: Ripley Co. Superintendents Share ISTEP Concerns Letter: Dearborn, Ohio Co. Superintendents Admonish State’s Handling Of ISTEP Letter: Franklin Co. School Officials Say State Continues To “Fumble” ISTEP ISTEP Debacle Puts Educators In A Pinch