Some school corporations reported problems with computers freezing when students took new ISTEP practice tests; others did not. Journal and Courier file photo
Some school corporations reported problems with computers freezing when students took new ISTEP practice tests; others did not. Journal and Courier file photo
Most educators endured horror stories of online ISTEP tests over the last six years, so this year — and its new test vendor — brought hope for smooth, relatively hassle-free testing.

“We’re experiencing a nightmare right now. It’s not going very well," Shannon Cauble, principal Mayflower Elementary School in the Tippecanoe school district, said earlier this week after the first day of testing.

“Kids have been getting consistently kicked out of the system,” she said. “I had one little girl who was kicked out three times during a 35-minute test.”

The reviews weren't entirely negative.

John Layton, assistant superintendent for Lafayette School Corp., said most of the district's students took the test this week.

“It went great,” Layton said. “Tuesday at the height of testing, we had 2,000 kids on computers, and we had no issues. It went well.”

ISTEP phase 2 — the online portion of the testing — started Monday and runs through May 6. Indiana students in third- through 10th grades took phase one — a paper and pencil test — between Feb. 29 and March 11.

Copyright © 2024 www.jconline.com