ISTEP Scores Remain Low Statewide; View Local Results

ISTEP pass rates from the Spring 2018 test are relatively stagnant compared to the previous year.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - ISTEP test results are out for Indiana schools, but they show little to no improvement in the frequency of students who passed both English and math tests.

Results released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education are for the standardized test given to 3rd through 10th graders last spring.

State lawmakers adopted tougher education standards in 2014 when they bucked Common Core standards. ISTEP pass rates dropped dramatically when the new standards were put in place. The pass rates have yet to recover to levels seen prior to 2015.

More Indiana schools saw their passing rates drop than those who saw an increase. Only 50.7 percent of 3rd through 8th graders statewide passed both the English/language arts and math portions of the exam, a decline from 51.4 percent last year. Only a third of 10th graders passed both, down from 34.3 percent in 2017 to 33.7 percent in 2018.

Complete Spring 2018 ISTEP results are available at www.doe.in.gov/accountability/find-school-and-corporation-data-reports.

Locally, the percentage of 10th grade students passing both English and math on the ISTEP ranged from 60.1 percent at Batesville High School to just 18.6 percent at Switzerland County High School.

Among 3rd through 8th graders, South Ripley Community School Corporation had the highest pass rate in both subjects at 68.0 percent. Switzerland County had the lowest in our five-county region, at 39.6 percent.

Private school performance was not always better than local public schools. St. Michael School in Brookville brags the area’s highest 3rd through 8th dual subject pass rate at 76.6 percent, but St. Mary School in Aurora had 50.8 percent pass both.

Among 10th graders, Oldenburg Academy’s pass rate in English and math was 35.7 percent.

“ISTEP+ is one of the many tools Indiana uses to measure student achievement and this year’s results indicate we are moving in the right direction,” said Dr. Jennifer McCormick, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. “Indiana’s classrooms are full of dedicated educators who spend each day preparing our children for academic success, and I am grateful for their hard work.”

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While many schools have been administering the test by computer for years, the most recent round of testing was the first time schools were expected to transition to online assessments as the primary delivery mode. According to the IDOE, 2.6 million assessments were given successfully online across all grades and content areas.

The state is planning to replace the ISTEP exam with the new ILEARN assessment in the spring of 2019. The DOE says ILEARN will assess the same Indiana Academic Standards as ISTEP, but it will be require less testing time. In Grade 10, ISTEP will continue to serve as the accountability assessment through the class of 2022, after which the state will transition to the Graduation Pathways.

3rd-8th Grades By Corporation

   Data source: Indiana Department of Education

3rd-8th Grades By School

   Data source: Indiana Department of Education

10th Grade By High School

   Data source: Indiana Department of Education