Indiana should scrap the ISTEP

I heard another thud in the computer lab – the sound of a student shutting down while taking a long standardized test. I went over to Jaylen, his head on his keyboard, to pump him up again. He just sighed, dejectedly. “I don’t mind taking tests, Mr. Shah, but this is doing too much. I mean, did you have to take this many long tests when you were in school?” No, I thought. Far from it. Standardized tests were an afterthought when I was growing up, taking a back seat to engaging teaching. When the ISTEP test came by, we weren’t anxious or stressed to take it. We just assumed we would pass, because we had spent the entire year learning in a classroom with a talented teacher.

Things have changed. Between ISTEP, Acuity, NWEA and internal interim assessments, a student in my school spends nearly 40 instructional hours a year taking standardized tests. Add hours more of test prep as well as tests and quizzes for classroom content, and I can see why Jaylen might feel like he spends more time being assessed than learning.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that this year, ISTEP might be more than twice as long as it was last year. I also didn’t have the heart to tell him that the reason for the change is a political battle between parties and branches of government. The collateral damage left teachers and schools confused about what students were expected to know and how to prepare them for the new test. This is proof that ISTEP is the wrong assessment for Indiana.

Last year, when our lawmakers pulled Indiana out of the Common Core State Standards adopted by 45 other states, they also pulled us from the battle-tested PARCC assessment that was aligned to it. Many teachers expected to return to our original state standards and assessments. Instead, we were left to cobble together our own new standards and ISTEP assessment in a short time. With new question types and no national partners who have tried them out yet, our students are left to be the guinea pigs for this test, to assess the assessment.

When I speak with teachers, parents and students about this, the verdict is unanimous: “Why are we doing this to our kids?” Teachers worry about lost instructional time, parents worry about testing fatigue, and students are just frightened of the pressure of taking such a long test. As a teacher, I understand the importance of these assessments – they give us valuable data about how our students are doing in specific areas so that we can target our instruction to help their skills grow. But it’s hard for me to explain to a parent why I’m going take away so many hours from their child’s learning to give them a test that’s so fraught with conflict and confusion. It’s even harder when I know they could be taking an assessment like PARCC that is shorter, cheaper, and designed with more time, talent, and national input.

Amid skirmishes between Gov. Mike Pence and State Superintendent Glenda Ritz over who is to blame for this morass, Sens. Luke Kenley and Ryan Mishler are right to propose scrapping the expensive ISTEP entirely. They’ve proposed purchasing an existing test such as PARCC or Smarter Balance, instead. Both are already field-tested and can be calibrated to assess Indiana’s College and Career Ready Standards.

But it’s important to remember that we didn’t have to take this detour. I just can’t help but feel guilty that we put our kids through such a confusing, stressful year because we adults couldn’t make up our minds. As Kenley said, “Do we have to give so many tests and does it have to cost this much?”

Our state made a mistake, and it’s time to fix it. It’s time to let go of our costly, clunky ISTEP, and join the rest of our nation in an assessment that’s tried and true. We owe that much to Jaylen, and his test-weary classmates. They’re just trying to learn.

Shah teaches 7th Grade Science at Tindley Preparatory Academy. He is a Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellow.