Indiana’s high school sophomores likely will take the much-maligned ISTEP standardized exams for two more years even as it’s being replaced for younger students.
State education officials are preparing a new test starting in spring 2019 for elementary and middle-school students named ILEARN, or Indiana’s Learning Evaluation Readiness Network.
The Indianapolis Star reports a bill approved by the General Assembly delays until spring 2022 a switch to testing high school juniors with a national college entrance exam, such as the SAT or ACT.
State schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick says keeping the 10th grade ISTEP exam for now is more practical than creating a new test for two years.
The ISTEP exam has faced complaints about the length of testing time needed and months-long waits for results.
Meantime, the test will be given to sophomores in the spring of 2019 and 2020. The college entrance exam will start for juniors in the 2021-22 school year.
