The Fort Wayne Community School board has voted to not help the Indiana Department of Education pilot questions for next year’s ISTEP. Participation would have meant additional, unrequired testing for students.
A Department of Education spokesperson says piloting the test ensures specific questions accurately assess a student’s knowledge.
The Department of Education asked Fort Wayne Schools to have some of its students take these questions like they would the real ISTEP, except the scores wouldn’t count.
School board president Mark GiaQuinta says the board didn’t want to give students in Fort Wayne more, unnecessary testing.
“We believe the time spent between a student and his/her teacher is far more valuable than the time taking a standardized test,” GiaQuinta says.
The DOE spokesperson says the state is sympathetic to Fort Wayne’s concern about more testing, but now must find other school districts to complete the pilot.
