February 23, 2015
Throughout this legislation session State Senator Randy Head plans to provide periodic updates on noteworthy education legislation being discussed by the Indiana General Assembly. The issue that received attention in the Senate last week was ISTEP+ testing.
Head said, “As I’m sure you’re aware, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) recently announced that this year’s ISTEP+ was set to more than double in length from last year.” For some students, that could have meant as much as 12 hours of testing. Head commented, “I was disappointed by this news.”
In the days following the announcement, the IDOE, Governor and General Assembly worked together to shorten the length of the test. Last week, the General Assembly took up legislation that will allow the test to be shortened by more than three hours for every student. Head said, “I believe shortening the extraordinary length of this year’s test is in the best interest of Indiana’s kids, and I appreciate the quick work of everyone involved to get this accomplished.”
He closed his comments by saying, “In the coming weeks, I will keep you updated on the progress of the General Assembly as we continue working to strengthen Indiana’s education system.”