The newly released ISTEP+ (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress Plus) scores for individual schools have school corporations all over the state pouring over the results.
The assessment test that has both an academic skills portion and multiple-choice questions is designed to assess mastery of the academic standards set by the 11-member Indiana State Board of Education. However, school corporation progress on the A-F grading system and the accountability aspect that means the difference whether teachers can receive pay increases are based on the ISTEP+ scores as well.
School corporations were allowed to review their individual school scores before the results were made public on August 4. In a radio interview last week in Ft. Wayne, Glenda Ritz, superintendent of public instruction, indicted that the delay in releasing the scores was , in part, due to the Ft. Wayne schools administering the test entirely on paper and not using the online version offered. Last year, internet interruptions caused some students to be bumped off the computer mid-test during a part or portions of assessment. Ritz said it took longer to score the paper generated tests.
Marshall County schools measured up well against the state averages. Of the some 500,000 students in grades 3 through 8 taking the tests, 74.7 percent passed both sections. That percentage was an increase of 73.1 percent passing last year.
Argos Elementary had 89.4 percent passing the English/Language Arts part of the test and 91.5 percent passing the math portion. Those passing both portions came in at 87 percent or a gain of 4 points over last year.
Argos Jr.-Sr. High School had 75.5 percent passing English/LA, 87.1 percent passing math, and 72.3 percent passing both. The totals reflect -3 points loss overall.
Bremen Elementary/Middle School had 80 percent passing the English/LA portions, 81.8 percent passing math, and 72.5 percent passing both. The had a modest decrease of 0.1 percent from last year.
Culver Elementary comes in with 83.5 percent passing English/LA, 84.2 percent passing math and 76.7 percent passing both. The scores show a 0.6 percentage decrease.
Culver Middle School had 84.4 percent passing English/LA, 84.2 percent passing math, and 76.7 percent passing both. The scores reflect an increase in scores of 14.4 percent.
LaVille Elementary had 83.5 percent passing English/LA, 91.1 percent passing math, and 80.6 percent passing both tests. The scores reflect a slight decrease of -0.7 percent.
LaVille Jr.-Sr. High School had 74 percent passing English/LA, 71.4 percent passing math and 65.5 percent passing both. The scores are 7.9 percent higher than last year’s.
Plymouth Community Schools all had scores well above the state averages; however there were some decreases in the overall percentages.
Lincoln Junior High had 78.6 percent passing English/LA, 83.8 percent passing math and 73.4 percent passing both. The numbers show a decrease of -1.9 percent.
Menominee Elementary had 88.7 percent passing English/LA, 81.7 percent passing math and 80 percent passing both. The scores were 2.3 percent higher than last year’s.
Jefferson Elementary had 89.7 percent passing English/LA, 88 percent passing math, and 80.9 percent passing both sections. The scores reflect a decrease of -3.2 percent over the 2012-2013 results.
Washington Discovery Academy had 86.1 percent passing English/LA, 82 percent passing math, and 76.5 percent passing both. The overall decrease came in at -10.5 percent in comparison to last year’s scores.
Webster Elementary had 87.2 percent passing English/LA, 82.7 percent passing math, and 78.4 percent passing both. The school had a decrease of 10.8 percent over last year.
It may be too early to know how the implementation of new test questions to conform to federal requirements will affect next year’s ISTEP+ results.
Carol Anders Correspondent
