Bill would move ISTEP testing to spring

INDIANAPOLIS -- A House committee advanced a bill Thursday that would move Indiana's statewide testing to the spring, a move that could cost the state millions of dollars but one that supporters say could help students.\nThe House Education Committee voted 8-4 to advance the bill, but committee chairman Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, said he will wait until more details were worked out before he takes the bill to the next legislative step.\nThe proposal requires moving the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus to the spring. But the bill does not specify a month or date for the test and does not determine whether the test would be given electronically or on paper.\nBehning said he wants a test that provides fast results so that teachers know who needs help over the summer. He also said he wants more than a simple, multiple-choice test and wants it to be administered in late April or May.\nGov. Mitch Daniels and others who support moving the test say it makes sense to test students at the end of the year, after they have had a full year of learning. Students could get help in summer school on the subjects they struggle with to catch up before the next school year.\nBill sponsor Rep. Steve Heim, R-Culver, said the fall test does not give schools and teachers the kind of information they need to help individual students on a timely basis. He said the test meets No Child Left Behind standards for measuring progress "and that's it."\nBut teacher organizations and other school officials have spoken against the bill, cautioning that it would cost the state money without any real benefit to students. The Legislative Services Agency said creating a new test could cost more than $10 million, but opponents said those numbers were underestimated.\nDan Clark, deputy executive director of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said helping struggling students over the summer would only work if more money were put into summer school programs. If students are tested in the fall, he said, teachers could see results and help students throughout the school year.\n"Fall ISTEP is the better way to help students," Clark said.