Much to the chagrin of virtually nobody, the
Indiana Legislature has voted to discontinue
ISTEP testing in 2017. Teachers, parents,
students and officials agree that the exam
should be replaced, on the argument that it
focuses too much on students regurgitating too
much information instead of actually learning.
In the past year, computer errors and delays in
scoring also damaged the credibility of ISTEP
exams. The new assessment tests for Hoosier
students will likely focus more on critical
thinking and evaluate students and teachers more
fairly.
What I did learn from ISTEP when I was in
school, and any Indiana student from the 80's or
90's can appreciate, is that "a "baloo" is a
bear, A "yonker" is a young man, and a "wuzzle"
means to mix.