Teacher leaks ISTEP essay due to possible political tones

First it circulated through email. Then it found its way to Facebook.

Eventually, the ISTEP essay that was leaked by a teacher in Clay County reached far enough that the Indiana Department of Education decided to throw out the essay question and the test scores of 83,000 eighth-graders as a result of the breach.

While the essay scores of all eighth-graders were invalidated, students will still receive an overall English/language arts score.

Kim Tucker, interim superintendent of Clay County Community Schools, said the teacher in question did not leak the essay to give students an unfair advantage prior to the test but rather to make a political point.

The question asked students to write about which high school they would choose to attend if they were to receive a full-ride scholarship to any high school within the United States.

Some educators, including the teacher who initially leaked the question, said they felt the question’s rhetoric was too similar to the idea behind House Bill 1003, a bill that would allow students to use public money to attend private schools which require tuition to attend.

But IDOE spokeswoman Lauren Auld said questions are drafted two years in advance of distribution. She said this question was drafted long before the HB 1003 legislation could have been implemented in Indiana.

“The notion that this was a political question is absolutely ridiculous and impossible,” Auld said. “That question was drafted over 23 months ago by a vendor and then reviewed by teachers, by citizens and by a committee for bias and sensitivity.”

Dr. Tony Bennett, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, said the motive of the teacher’s attack was to accuse Bennett of using the ISTEP test to push a political agenda to children.

Regardless of the motive, Bennett said the teacher responsible for the leak could face civil action from the state in order to seek financial restitution.

Auld said the state does not yet know how much the leak will cost them, but estimates of delaying scores are more than $100,000.

She said the release of scores will be delayed as graders will need to ensure that students can be evaluated as thoroughly as possible.

As a result, the IDOE may send out ISTEP scores of lower grade levels separately from the eighth-grade scores.

“The case is still in investigation,” Auld said. “And this is a very serious leak. It is not in our jurisdiction to fire the teacher or anything, but on the state level we could look into revoking their license.”