State Superintendent Glenda Ritz's office might pursue a fine for the maker of ISTEP over its latest problem in grading the exam, though it isn't yet clear whether the state has any recourse.
Executives from CTB (the former CTB/McGraw-Hill) announced at last month's State Board of Education meeting that they would re-grade some ISTEP's administered last school year to correct what were initially marked as incorrect answers on some open-ended questions.
The delay means ISTEP scores will likely not be available until December according to the company, which could push the distribution of A-to-F grades for the 2014-15 school year as late as February 2016.
“Once you have ISTEP grades, there is a lot more process to go through,” said Dan Altman, spokesman for Ritz's Department of Education. “It pushes the calendar back for ISTEP grades and other information schools are looking for.”
In 2013, when ISTEP was plagued with problems during the administration of the exam that mostly had to do with computer servers not being able to handle the online testing load, CTB had to repay $3 million to the state for the delays, only a small portion of its $95 million, four-year contract.
This spring's ISTEP was the last one to be given by CTB before the expiration of the contract, so it isn't clear whether the state can assess another fine for the delayed scores. “That's something we are taking a look at. We are having our legal staff take a look at the contract to see what options are available to the state,”
Altman said. CTB would likely fight any attempt to recoup money they have already been paid for ISTEP. At the State Board meeting last month, company president Ellen Haley essentially blamed the grading problems on the state's new education standards and the creation of a new ISTEP to adhere to those standards.
The quick change caused ISTEP to be longer in length since test questions could not be tried out in practice exams and weeded out before the actual ISTEP took place.
Haley also says the company didn't have a chance to test their new grading guidelines, which she says did not foresee the way some students answered technology-based questions.
