In 2014-15, Indiana adopted new, more rigorous educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade.
The state then developed new, more rigorous ISTEP+ tests to assess how well students were meeting those standards.
More rigorous standards and assessments will mean lower test scores, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz warned the board of directors of the Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County and about 30 visitors to the board’s monthly meeting on Monday.
“We are expecting a drop in scores,” said Ritz.
That drop could be as high as 20 to 30 percent.
In Indiana, those test scores are used to rank schools with grades from A to F. Those grades in turn, Ritz said, “affect the economic status of all of our areas.”
She would like to see the school grades for 2014-15 somehow acknowledge the drop in scores caused by the rigorous new standards and assessments.
Ritz has gone twice to Gov. Mike Pence “to seek flexibility for the actual assigning of school grades” (for 2014-15).
But whatever standard is used, school grades won’t be assigned soon. Ritz said she expects the state board of education to start determining cut-off scores for each school grade in October and final grades to be available by “probably the end of February.”
Ritz admitted assigning school grades is not her favorite part of her job.
“I do not believe in labeling schools A-B-C-D-F,” she said.