The Indiana Department of Education says student ISTEP+ scores were not negatively impacted by the scoring process completed by test vendor CTB.
The assurances come after anonymous allegations surfaced in an Indianapolis Star story earlier this month.
A handful of sources claiming to be CTB supervisors told the Star a computer malfunction had inadvertently changed grades on the annual statewide test, and that company leaders decided to leave those potentially incorrect scores in place.
But a follow-up analysis, conducted by independent test experts at the request of DOE and State Board of Education staffers, found this was not the case. In their report, the experts found, quote-- "no evidence that students were erroneously given a lower score on the Spring 2015 ISTEP+.”
In a statement, state Superintendent Glenda Ritz says she's pleased the state can move forward, and reiterated her opinion that this year's scores should not be used in evaluating Indiana teachers and schools. Several members of the General Assembly have said they plan to work on this idea at the outset of the legislative session in January.
