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Scores on the state's proficiency exam are down slightly compared with last year, sparking disappointment from state and local educators who are concerned about the lack of improvement overall.
The Indiana Department of Education released ISTEP+ scores Thursday, showing that the number of Hoosier students passing the language arts and math portions of the exam decreased by one point each. About 71 percent of Hoosier students were considered proficient in language arts, compared with 72 percent last year. About 74 percent of students were performing at grade level in math, compared with 75 percent in 2007-08.
"Despite gains made by many local schools, the latest ISTEP+ results are disappointing from a state perspective," Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed said in a statement. "Like an annual physical, ISTEP+ is our regular checkup of student learning. The results are in, but the true test is what will be done by parents, students and educators to turn these results around."
In years prior, ISTEP+ scores statewide have either remained flat or increased slightly. How schools perform on ISTEP+ determines how they stack up to federal No Child Left Behind standards and the state's accountability model, Public Law 221.
In Fort Wayne Community Schools, passing rates in most grades in both language arts and math went down from last year, with scores remaining stagnant in fifth-grade language arts and seventh-grade math. The passing rate went up in sixth- and 10th-grade language arts.
"It does bother us if the scores don't go up, … because that's the only public measure people see," Fort Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Wendy Robinson said.
Most schools in East Allen County Schools also saw decreased passing rates this year. The percentage of students performing at grade level went down at 12 schools, remained the same at one and increased at five.
"We do recognize that student achievement levels are not where we want them to be in our district right now," Assistant Superintendent Janet MacLean said.
Northwest Allen County Schools and Southwest Allen County Schools regularly perform above the state average. Though that remained the same, scores in most grade levels in both districts went down.
The most dramatic changes in NACS over last year include the 11 percentage-point decrease for fourth-graders in language arts and math at Cedar Canyon Elementary School and the 29 percentage-point increase in both subjects for fourth-graders at Arcola Elementary, a school that had been targeted for improvement last year.
Variances in SACS schools include a 14 percentage-point increase in both language arts and math at Deer Ridge Elementary School in fifth grade and a 17 percentage-point decrease for fourth-graders in both subjects at Lafayette Meadows Elementary School.
Some educators have suggested that there's a correlation between the decrease in ISTEP+ scores and the increase in the percentage of students receiving a free or reduced-price lunch from the federal government, a common indicator of poverty in schools.
"Everyone knows that issues that happen outside of the classroom affect how students perform on the test," said Indiana Department of Education spokesman Jason Bearce, who did not have data for the 2008-09 school year but said the percentage of low-income students had increased the previous two years.
Robinson also questioned Thursday whether the scores for the state and FWCS went down because of an increase in low-income students. The percentage of the district's students receiving a free or reduced-price lunch increased from 60 percent in 2007-08 to more than 63 percent this year.
The free or reduced-price lunch population at South Side Elementary School in Kendallville jumped from 59 percent last year to 69 percent this year, Principal Jim Nixon said.
"Poverty is not a determining factor, but it is an influential factor in student achievement," Nixon said.
For East Allen, it's about educating not only a low-income population but also one with a language barrier. The district has nearly 450 Burmese students who barely, if at all, speak English but were expected to take the ISTEP+ like the rest of the student body.
Armed with the fall test results, educators say they will continue to target individual student weaknesses and work to get students ready to take the ISTEP+ again this spring.
The fall test, which measures what students learned in the previous school year, was eliminated by the Indiana State Board of Education in favor of testing students in the spring based on what they learned in the current school year.
This is the only year the test will be administered twice, to accommodate the transition.
ksoderlund@jg.net
