State of Indiana Student Achievement Assessment Tools

1. How does Indiana evaluate student progress toward the mastery of the Indiana Academic Standards?

Criterion-referenced assessments such as ISTEP+ and Core 40 end-of-course assessments, are currently used in Indiana to evaluate academic progress toward mastery of what students should know and be able to do. These assessment tools are aligned to the Indiana Academic Standards. In order that students be able to demonstrate mastery of the standards, instruction in Indiana classrooms should also be aligned with the standards. Test results should reflect the level of success achieved toward mastery of grade specific knowledge.

ISTEP+

The purposes of the ISTEP+ program

(1) To assess the strengths and weaknesses of school performance.
(2) To assess the effects of state and local educational programs.
(3) To provide a source of information for state and local decision makers with regard to educational matters, including the following:

(A) The overall academic progress of students.
(B) The need for new or revised educational programs.
(C) The need to terminate existing educational programs.
(D) Student readiness for post secondary school experiences.
(E) Overall curriculum development and revision activities.
(F) Identifying students who may need remediation.
(G) Diagnosing individual student needs.
(H) Teacher training and staff development activities.

Indiana administers a criterion-based test (ISTEP+) in both English / language arts and mathematics that is aligned specifically to the Indiana Academic Standards. ISTEP+ utilizes both a method of testing basic skills that include multiple choice questions and a method of testing applied skills including short answer or essay questions and the solving of arithmetic or mathematical problems. All questions are appropriate for the designated grade level tested and should be aligned to what is being taught in the classroom.

New more rigorous, clear, and concise academic standards were adopted in 2000 in mathematics and language arts. These standards will first be tested in 2002 for grades 3, 6, and 8 and in 2004 for grade 10. The scores to pass these tests will be set at the levels necessary for students to demonstrate solid academic performance on the standards. These scores will not be set or skewed to cause more or fewer students to pass or more or fewer schools to rise or fall in category placements. The education roundtable may recommend and the board may set additional higher levels of proficiency to encourage increased achievement for advanced students.

Primary indicators of improvement and performance

The primary indicators of school improvement and performance are the following:

(1) ISTEP+ English/language arts and mathematics tests at grades 3, 6, 8, & 10.
(2) English/language arts and mathematics tests at grades 4, 5, 7, and 9.
(3) ISTEP+ science tests and social studies tests, when implemented, at grades 5, 7, & 9.
(4) Science and social studies tests at grades 4, 6, & 8.
(5) Core 40 end-of-course exams.