Tippecanoe Valley Schools Address ISTEP+ Scores
AKRON — With the announcement of the spring, 2015, ISTP+ scores earlier this week, many Indiana school corporations are not pleased with the results of the new standards.
Despite this, Tippecanoe Valley Schools fared well overall, according to Superintendent Brett Boggs.
Boggs gave a school-by-school breakdown of the corporation’s results, noting that Akron Elementary fared well. Boggs noted the school gained a bonus point in English/language arts, with no negative growth points in English or math.
“With the new standards in place and ISTEP+ being considerably more rigorous, the school was pleased by the performance of its students,” Boggs said. “Akron Elementary School will continue to push forward and grow in all areas of the curriculum.”
Boggs, who spoke with Mentone Elementary School Principal Randy Dahms, noted that Mentone Elementary experienced scoring changes similar to those seen statewide.
“He also noted that Mentone Elementary School is taking multiple steps to improve student performance, including vertical curriculum alignment, spiraling back on power standards and making more effective use of student data,” Boggs said.
Boggs believes the implementation of professional learning communities will facilitate this.
“The staff of Mentone Elementary School is also working to challenge students by asking higher level questions. Such questions require a greater depth of knowledge as students must think at levels far beyond basic recall,” he said.
Like Akron Elementary, Tippecanoe Valley Middle School ended up seeing growth in three of six measured areas through this round of ISTEP+ testing. Boggs admitted there was a drop in TVMS’s overall performance scores, with English/language arts down 12 percent and math down consistent with the state average.
Boggs noted that the 12 percent drop in English/language arts was above the state average.
“Everyone at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School has worked diligently to address these areas and the school really held its own despite a much more challenging test,” he said.
Like many school administrators, Boggs and others at Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation have expressed frustration with the way tests like ISTEP+ are being handled.
“The issues with the Spring 2015 ISTEP+ are well documented,” Boggs said. “Educators, parents and many elected officials have openly questioned the validity of the results. Yet, school corporations, individual schools, teachers and administrators are being evaluated based on these questionable results. The delay between the time the test was administered and the results were delivered makes them virtually useless in guiding classroom instruction.”
Boggs called on Indiana’s elected officials to step back and consider what the current testing system means for student, teachers and schools as a whole.
“Indiana’s public schools welcome accountability when it’s done in an accurate, fair and equitable manner,” he said. “Our elected officials must own up to the serious shortcomings of the current accountability system — based heavily on the results of ISTEP+ — and find a better way.”
He also addressed changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, formerly No Child Left Behind. No Child Left Behind initially allowed the federal government more say in states’ education systems.
“The newly reauthorized legislation, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, returns education oversight to the states and should eliminate many of the issues public schools have been dealing with for the past 15 years,” Boggs said. “Local parents, schools and educators will have greater control of how children are educated in their local public schools.”
To view statewide ISTEP+ scores, click here.