One in three Indiana students experienced interruptions while taking the state’s online standardized tests this spring, but the widespread glitches had no discernible effect on statewide student scores, says a review commissioned by the state education department.
The testing problems occurred in late April and early May, as nearly half a million students in grades 3-8 took the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus, or ISTEP+, exams. The interruptions were the result of faulty memory on the servers of the state’s testing vendor, CTB/McGraw-Hill.
In a statement, state schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz said there is “no doubt” that the problems adversely affected students and schools and acknowledged that there is no way to definitively know how children would have performed had the interruptions not occurred.
The state is still negotiating a settlement with the company. Oklahoma recently settled with CTB/McGraw-Hill for $1.2 million over similar problems.
