ISTEP comparison is tricky

Comparing this spring's ISTEP scores with those from last fall was always going to be an apples-to-oranges situation.

But because an entirely new test was given with different scoring ranges, it's more a question of comparing apples to pumpkins.

Assistant superintendent Wood Barwick told Jay School Board members this week that questions about the new test have been raised statewide, with many questioning its validity.

"The old test had been around for awhile," said Barwick. "It's difficult to compare the old test to the new test."

State superintendent Tony Bennett also cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from the new test results because of the change. Bennett held a news conference on ISTEP in Indianapolis today.

Results presented by Barwick showed Jay students performing slightly worse across the board on the new test.

At the third grade level, 78 percent passed the language arts portion and 82 percent passed the math portion. That's down three percentage points for language arts and five percentage points for math.

At the fourth grade level, 79 percent passed the language arts portion and 73 percent passed the math portion. That's down one percentage point for language arts and 12 percentage points for math.

In fifth grade, 74 percent passed the language arts portion and 79 percent passed the math portion.

That's down one percentage point for language arts and six percentage points for math.

In sixth grade, 69 percent passed the language arts portion and 75 percent passed the math portion. That's down two percentage points for language arts and seven percentage points for math.

At the seventh grade level, 71 percent passed the language arts portion and 72 percent passed the math portion. That's even with the fall test for language arts but down 16 percentage points for math.

At the eighth grade level, 67 percent passed the language arts portion and 71 percent passed the math portion. That's down seven percentage points for language arts and nine percentage points for math.

Barwick said the test results, which are still be analyzed and in some cases contested, will not be used in connection with No Child Left Behind or a school's annual yearly progress but instead will establish a new benchmark for future student performance.[[In-content Ad]]