Subject: English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 3 – 8
Measures Growth: No
Visit Website
The Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress Plus assessment program tests students in grades 3-8 in ELA, math, science and social studies. The ELA test is administered to all grades from 3-8, using a combination of multiple choice, essay and open response questions.
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Data is presented clearly
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
I have two major complaints with the ISTEP:
* It takes MUCH too long to get the results back, because they aren't returned until the next school year. This makes it difficult to use the test to guide teaching except in the most general ways.
* Many of the questions on the Language Arts test are poorly written. I understand that some questions are worded to force the child into a higher level of thinking. But there are many that I believe are unintentionally confusing because of poor writing.
Submitted by Cheryl in Indiana on May 17, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly
Cons: Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
ISTEP does not accurately show professional growth. If a student doesn't care about how well they do on the test, how does that reflect upon me as a teacher? It doesn't! It is very frustrating for most teachers to be measured as Highly effective, Effective, Needs Improvement, etc. based on one test. It is good to use, when students take it seriously, to help me see what skills we really need to focus on during instruction.
Submitted by Robin in Indiana on April 10, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly
Cons: Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
c
Submitted by Robin in Indiana on April 10, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer
Cons: Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
The writing prompt was excellent this year and my students were all able to write on the topic without a problem. The response to reading session was more difficult because it tested a student's imagination more than their skill at comprehending what they read.
Submitted by Debbie in Indiana on April 10, 2013
Pros: Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
The feedback is so slow, that it is hard to turn around and use in the classroom.
Submitted by Sarah in Indiana on February 29, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Results are not returned quickly
Some tests are more difficult than others, depends on the year.
Submitted by J.L. in Indiana on February 25, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Data is presented clearly
Cons: Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
The general public believes this is a fair and equitable test. Cut scores are set after tests are administered and scored. This permits and supports the use of a bell curve, which in turn gives some populations an unfair advantage and others a disadvantage.
In the past few years, there has been some improvement in the use of short answer, extended response questions/answers.
The most distressful aspect of the testing is that it is one strong component of a state wide grading system for schools.
Submitted by Kathleen in Indiana on February 22, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time
ISTEP is directly aligned to the standards I teach, however, it is administered at the end of the year and does not allow me to inform my practice as the year progresses.
Submitted by Brittany in Indiana on February 18, 2012
Copyright © 2012–2013 Assessment Advisor. All Rights Reserved.