The General Assembly passed the halfway mark of so-called “education session” this week, and so far state standardized testing has dominated much of the conversation.
One bill that passed through the Senate during the first half of the session proposes doing away with the state-crafted ISTEP+, and perhaps moving toward using a national test.
With plenty of drama already over this year’s test – including timelines and test length – many see this as a common-sense idea.
Governor Mike Pence says he’s already had some preliminary conversations about making a switch, although it wasn’t originally part of his agenda.
"It’s important that we measure students performance, and it’s important that we grade our schools just like we grade our kids and make that information available to parents going forward," Pence says.
House Minority Leader Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) agrees that the concept deserves some consideration.
"Making testing simpler and less expensive and less long, those are generally positive goals and I think they merit some degree of pursuit," Pelath says.
The House and Senate return to session Monday.