On Feb. 26, students took the first round of the state standardized test ISTEP. Amongst other things schools in the state are included in this process of scoring based on average scores. Students and teachers alike are a bit skeptical of the overall effectiveness and purpose and how things may need to be changed.

Heather Goodrich teaches ninth grade english language arts and also advanced placement language, a course for twelfth graders. As there is a english segment of the ISTEP test Goodrich is informed of many of the principles and standards that aid success on the test.

“It’s meant to measure achievement and also to measure a minimum achievement level and or determine a students achievement and eligibility,” Goodrich said.

A common viewpoint of many teachers is simply that ISTEP is used to evaluate teachers and test students eligibility to graduate.   

Goodrich feels that although it does evaluate to an extent there could be better ways to do the same thing statewide.

“I think ISTEP is not the most effective. More trust should be put in teachers to measure student achievement, and oftentimes over testing results in test fatigue,” Goodrich said.
Boys tennis coach and ninth grade world history teacher Dan Brunette feels that it has been around for too long and should be updated to be more personalized to the students.

“I think it is an outdated. There are other measures of achievement that show a student is ready to graduate or not,” Brunette said.

Brunette feels that with the new criteria presented by the state for public schools should be reflected in the Indiana state tests.           

“We should tailor new graduation path that meets the requirements that the new system that the state put in place. The school should not be scored based off of one standardized test,” Brunette said.

-Garrett Mahaffey