Proposal to get rid of ISTEP advanced by Rep. Terry Goodin, opposed by House supermajority

INDIANAPOLIS — Given a chance by State Rep. Terry Goodin (D-Austin) to replace the flawed ISTEP testing program, Indiana House Republicans today chose to keep a system in place that has proven to be a resounding failure in assessing the progress Hoosier schoolchildren make in learning basic skills.

On a party-line vote, House Republicans rejected an amendment offered by Goodin to Senate Bill 200 that would have eliminated ISTEP and replaced it with a Benchmarking Excellence Student Testing (BEST) program to be developed by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state Department of Education, and the state Board of Education. The new test would have been on line in time for the 2017-18 school year.

“ISTEP doesn’t work,” Goodin said. “It hasn’t worked since it came into existence, and it doesn’t make sense for us to come back here year after year and try and tinker with it. What we need to do is get rid of it, start over, and let the experts figure out the best ways to determine the overall academic progress of students, their readiness for lives after graduation, and the abilities of schools to perform those functions.

As the levels of complaints about ISTEP have grown in recent times, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in both the Indiana House and Senate have started to discuss the need to find a new testing system. In the past, influential State Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville) has suggested creation of a BEST program of the type that was outlined in Goodin’s proposal today.

“This rising tide of concern is keyed on the belief that something has to be done to remove the stench that this test has become,” Goodin said. “Even the most staunch testing zealots are starting to come to their senses about the hazards associated with a system that simply places too much of an emphasis on the passage of this particular test.

“Rather than fiddling with a system that isn’t working, I believe it’s time to start from scratch and allow the experts to begin work on a test that genuinely traces the levels of progress that students make, then enables us to work with those who need the most help,” he continued. “Perhaps then we could realize that the point behind all this should be to help students improve. It is very disappointing to see that so many of those who run the Indiana House are not interested in taking care of the core problem, but prefer to continue working around the edges.”

Senate Bill 200, now eligible for final reading in the House, would hold most schools harmless from last year’s drop in ISTEP scores.