By Andrew Pillow

The much-criticized ISTEP+ exam may finally be on its way out. The Indiana Senate has approved a replacement exam, ILEARN.

ILEARN would require the test to be administered on a computer. It would also allow Indiana students’ scores to be compared with other students’ scores across the country. All of this would begin in 2019, which means the ISTEP would continue to be used until then.

The ISTEP has long been unpopular among many educators and lawmakers. This particular bill was authored by Republicans, but Democrat Glenda Ritz also sought to change the exam during her tenure as Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The bill may still be tweaked as some have expressed concerns about using the outgoing ISTEP exam as a metric for teacher effectiveness.

Read more here. (WFYI)

Read the bill here. (iga.in.gov)