CHAPTER 5. INDIANA STATEWIDE TESTING FOR EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

IC 20-32-5
     Chapter 5. Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress

IC 20-32-5-1
Purposes of ISTEP
    
Sec. 1. The purposes of the ISTEP program developed under this chapter are as follows:
        (1) To assess the strengths and weaknesses of school performance.
        (2) To assess the effects of state and local educational programs.
        (3) To compare achievement of Indiana students to achievement of students on a national basis.
        (4) To provide a source of information for state and local decision makers with regard to educational matters, including the following:
            (A) The overall academic progress of students.
            (B) The need for new or revised educational programs.
            (C) The need to terminate existing educational programs.
            (D) Student readiness for postsecondary school experiences.
            (E) Overall curriculum development and revision activities.
            (F) Identifying students who may need remediation under IC 20-32-8.
            (G) Diagnosing individual student needs.
            (H) Teacher education and staff development activities.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16. Amended by P.L.246-2005, SEC.176.

IC 20-32-5-2
Subject areas
    
Sec. 2. ISTEP program testing shall be administered in the following subject areas:
        (1) English/language arts.
        (2) Mathematics.
        (3) Science, in grade levels determined by the state board.
        (4) Social studies, in grade levels determined by the state board.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-3
Content of tests
    
Sec. 3. To carry out the purposes described in section 1 of this chapter, each English/language arts and mathematics test developed for use under the ISTEP program test must include the following:
        (1) A method of testing basic skills appropriate for the designated grade level, including multiple choice questions.
        (2) A method of testing applied skills appropriate for the designated grade level, including short answer or essay questions and the solving of arithmetic or mathematical problems.
        (3) A method of testing and grading that will allow comparison

with national and international academic standards.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-4
Duties of board, state superintendent, and department
    
Sec. 4. (a) The state board shall:
        (1) authorize the development and implementation of the ISTEP program; and
        (2) determine the date on which the statewide testing is administered in each school corporation.
    (b) The state superintendent is responsible for the overall development, implementation, and monitoring of the ISTEP program.
    (c) The department shall prepare detailed design specifications for the ISTEP program that must do the following:
        (1) Take into account the academic standards adopted under IC 20-31-3.
        (2) Include testing of students' higher level cognitive thinking in each subject area tested.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-5
General language arts essay questions; scoring rubric; anchor paper
    
Sec. 5. The department shall make general language arts essay scoring rubrics available to the public at least four (4) months before the administration of a test. An essay question, a scoring rubric, or an anchor paper used in the ISTEP program must comply with the following:
        (1) For an essay question, have a prompt that is taken from:
            (A) a textbook on the state textbook adoption list included in IC 20-20-5; or
            (B) a source other than a source listed in clause (A) that is approved by the ISTEP program citizens' review committee established under IC 20-32-6.
        (2) Not seek or compile information about a student's:
            (A) personal attitudes;
            (B) political views;
            (C) religious beliefs;
            (D) family relationships; or
            (E) other matters listed in IC 20-30-5-17(b).
        The ISTEP program citizens' review committee shall determine whether an essay question or a scoring rubric complies with this subdivision.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-6
Scoring of student responses
    
Sec. 6. The scoring of student responses under an ISTEP program test:
        (1) must measure student achievement relative to the academic

standards established by the state board;
        (2) must adhere to scoring rubrics and anchor papers; and
        (3) may not reflect the scorer's judgment of the values expressed by a student in the student's responses.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-7
Reports of scores in mathematics and English/language arts
    
Sec. 7. This subsection applies to reports of scores in mathematics and English/language arts. Reports must:
        (1) provide scores indicating student performance relative to each of the academic standards:
            (A) established by the state board; and
            (B) assessed by the test;
        (2) be related to passing scores established by the state board; and
        (3) contain the information listed in subdivisions (1) and (2) for the following levels:
            (A) Individual student.
            (B) Classroom.
            (C) School.
            (D) School corporation.
            (E) Indiana.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-8
Reports; guide for interpreting scores
    
Sec. 8. Reports of student scores must be:
        (1) returned to the school corporation that administered the test; and
        (2) accompanied by a guide for interpreting scores.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-9
Test scores; inspection; rescoring
    
Sec. 9. (a) After reports of student scores are returned to a school corporation, the school corporation shall promptly do the following:
        (1) Give each student and the student's parent the student's ISTEP program test scores.
        (2) Make available for inspection to each student and the student's parent the following:
            (A) A copy of the essay questions and prompts used in assessing the student.
            (B) A copy of the student's scored essays.
            (C) A copy of the anchor papers and scoring rubrics used to score the student's essays.
A student's parent may request a rescoring of a student's responses to a test, including a student's essay.
    (b) A student's ISTEP program scores may not be disclosed to the public. As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-10
Parent/teacher conferences
    
Sec. 10. After a school receives score reports, the school shall schedule a parent/teacher conference with the following:
        (1) A parent of a student who requests a parent/teacher conference on the scores of the student.
        (2) The parent of each student who does not receive a passing score on the test. The conference must include a discussion of:
            (A) the student's test scores, including subscores on academic standards; and
            (B) the proposed remediation plan for the student.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-11
School corporation compilation of results
    
Sec. 11. Each school corporation shall compile the total results of the ISTEP program tests in a manner that will permit evaluation of learning progress within the school corporation. The school corporation shall make the compilation of test results available for public inspection and shall provide that compilation to the parent of each student tested under the ISTEP program.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-12
Annual school corporation performance report
    
Sec. 12. The department shall develop a format for the publication by school corporations in an annual performance report required by statute of appropriate academic information required by the department, including ISTEP program test scores, in a manner that a reasonable person can easily read and understand.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-13
School results
    
Sec. 13. The school corporation shall provide the ISTEP program test results on a school by school basis to the department upon request.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-14
Student results; consent
    
Sec. 14. Upon request by the commission for higher education, the department shall provide ISTEP program test results to the commission for those students for whom the commission under 20 U.S.C. 1232g has obtained consent.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-15 Testing schedule
    
Sec. 15. (a) The state superintendent shall develop an ISTEP program testing schedule in which:
        (1) each student in grades 3, 6, 8, and 10 must be tested; and
        (2) each student in grade 10 must take a graduation examination.
    (b) The state board shall adopt rules to establish when a student is considered to be in grade 10 for purposes of initially taking the graduation examination.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-16
Children with disabilities
    
Sec. 16. (a) A student who is a child with a disability (as defined in IC 20-35-1-2) shall be tested under this chapter with appropriate accommodations in testing materials and procedures unless the individuals who develop the child's individualized education program determine that testing or a part of the testing under this chapter is not appropriate for the student and that an alternate assessment will be used to test the student's achievement.
    (b) Any decision concerning a student who is a child with a disability (as defined in IC 20-35-1-2) regarding the student's:
        (1) participation in testing under this chapter;
        (2) receiving accommodations in testing materials and procedures;
        (3) participation in remediation under IC 20-32-8; or
        (4) retention at the same grade level for consecutive school years;
shall be made in accordance with the student's individualized education program in compliance with the ISTEP program manual and federal law.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-17
Nonpublic schools
    
Sec. 17. (a) If a nonpublic school seeks accreditation as authorized under IC 20-19-2-8(a)(5), the governing body of the nonpublic school is entitled to acquire at no charge from the department:
        (1) the ISTEP program test; and
        (2) the scoring reports used by the department.
    (b) The nonpublic school seeking accreditation must:
        (1) administer the ISTEP program test to its students at the same time that school corporations administer the test; and
        (2) make available to the department the results of the ISTEP program testing.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-18
Innovative testing methods; pilot program      Sec. 18. (a) The department shall establish a pilot program to examine innovative testing methods.
    (b) The department shall select a representative sample of school corporations determined through an application procedure to participate in the pilot program under this section.
    (c) The types of methods authorized under this program include the following:
        (1) Recently developed techniques for measuring higher order thinking skills.
        (2) Performance testing of academic standards that are difficult to measure by a written test format.
        (3) Expanded subject area assessment using student writing samples.
    (d) The funds necessary to implement a pilot program under this section shall be expended from the research and development program under IC 20-20-11.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-19
Use of state funds
    
Sec. 19. If state funds appropriated for remediation are available under IC 20-32-8 at the end of a state fiscal year, the funds:
        (1) do not revert to the state general fund; and
        (2) must be transferred to the 4R's technology program for use under IC 20-20-13-9.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-20
Repealed
    
(Repealed by P.L.179-2006, SEC.1.)

IC 20-32-5-21
National or international assessments
    
Sec. 21. (a) The state board may require schools to participate in national or international assessments.
    (b) The state board may establish an assessment to be administered at the conclusion of each Core 40 course in English/language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. However, participation in a Core 40 assessment established under this subsection must be voluntary on the part of a school corporation.
    (c) The state board may establish a diagnostic reading assessment for use in grades 1 and 2 to promote grade level reading competency by grade 3. However, participation in a reading assessment established under this subsection must be voluntary on the part of a school corporation.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.

IC 20-32-5-22
Rules
    
Sec. 22. The state board shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to

implement this chapter.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.16.