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Indiana Statehouse
Sen. Mark Stoops, D-Bloomington, today called for the Indiana legislature to take the dramatic step of passing a bill next week during what is normally a mostly ceremonial session to protect schools and teachers from consequences of an expected steep drop in ISTEP scores.
Last school year’s ISTEP was connected to tougher standards, and preliminary data shows far more Indiana children could fail the 2015 exam than in prior years. That could send school A-F grades plummeting and knock down teacher ratings that are partly calculated based on how much students’ scores rise. Final ISTEP scores are expected in December.
Schools can face serious consequences if they are rated an F, including state takeover for those that can’t raise their scores. Teachers can have pay raises blocked or even be fired if they are rated ineffective.
But in an announcement this afternoon, Stoops said lawmakers can help the state avoid all that potential pain and drama. The legislature meets on Tuesday for Organization Day.
“We have shown that the legislature can pass a bill in a matter of hours,” Stoops said. “I think it’s critical we pass this as soon as possible.”
Bills are rarely passed on Organization Day, but it could happen if lawmakers suspend a few rules. Rumors have been circulating — and strongly denied by legislative leaders — that the legislature could pass a bill on Organization Day to expand civil rights laws to add protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. But this is the first suggestion that an education bill could be offered.
Stoops’ bill contains much of what state Superintendent Glenda Ritz has lobbied for over the course of the past few months. It would hold schools and teachers “harmless,” releasing them from any consequences, if ISTEP scores drop for their students. For 2015, schools’ letter grades would only change from what they were in 2014 if they are higher, for example.
The same logic would apply for teacher evaluations and pay bonuses — evaluations could only get better or stay the same but not drop because of lower ISTEP scores. Teacher performance bonuses also couldn’t be lowered because of poor ISTEP results, just raised or held the same.
Stoops argued for action in a letter to Senate President David Long, R-Fort Wayne, by pointing out that state law requires teacher bonus funds to be distributed to schools and districts by Dec. 5.
The cutoff scores to pass ISTEP that were approved by the state board last month are expected to result in big drops for percent of students passing ISTEP — down an estimated 16 percentage points in English and 24 percentage points in math.
Using the passing rates from the 2014 ISTEP test as a guide, and the corresponding letter grades for schools, drops that big could have a dramatic effect on school grades in 2015, education department spokesman Daniel Altman told Chalkbeat last month.
On average, a 20 percentage point drop in the ISTEP passing rate could move the state from almost 54 percent of schools earning A’s last year to as few as 7 percent earning an A for 2015. Along with declines at the top, D’s and F’s could rise from about 8 percent and 5 percent last year to just over 27 percent for both in 2015. School grades aren’t expected to be released until early 2016.
“As a legislature and a state board of education, you can’t be attempting to undermine schools,” Stoops said. “And if we allow these test scores that we know to be flawed to be used to assess and grade teachers and students and schools, I think that’s irresponsible on our part.”
Last month Gov. Mike Pence also announced he wanted to relieve the penalties on teachers for lower expected ISTEP scores, but he has not detailed whether specific legislation is in the works or what his plan might entail.
Long said he supported Pence’s efforts in a statement last month, reversing his own prior position, which was opposed to relieving schools and teachers accountability sanctions. A statement from Long today said he didn’t think legislation needed to be passed so soon to adjust the system.
“I am very mindful of the timeframe for making changes,” Long said in a statement. “If the legislature, the Department of Education and the State Board of Education work together, I believe we can find the flexibility necessary to adjust our systems in a timely fashion without passing legislation on Organization Day.”
This “pause” in accountability has been shot down several times by the Indiana State Board of Education, although final say rests with the General Assembly.
Stoops said that it’s lawmakers responsibility to fix the situation because it was one of their own making.
“We really expect an increase of failing and D-schools in the state,” Stoops said. “That’s a dramatic change and could have a really negative impact on state and local communities. If we as a state legislature truly want to show we really support schools, teachers and students, then we need to make sure that we correct this problem that is largely created by the state legislature.”
Chalkbeat Indiana is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
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