State Accepting ISTEP Replacement Proposals

The Indiana Department of Education has launched the request for proposal process for the exam to replace ISTEP. Indiana’s Learning Evaluation Assessment Readiness Network or ILEARN is set to take over as the statewide standardized test in the 2018-2019 school year. Applications are due August 24. During an interview in February on Inside INdiana Business Television, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick said a key to ILEARN will be creating "something that looks different than what we are administering now."

The IDOE says ILEARN will be computer adaptive, which will adjust questions for test-takers in order to fit their individual responses and demonstrated skill level. Officials call it an improvement over previous methods and say it will serve as a better measure of each student’s "true level of mastery and (will) identify where additional instruction is necessary."

The new vendor will also be responsible for deployment and administration of the IREAD-3 test, which is given to Hoosier third-graders.

Proposals will be reviewed this fall by IDOE, State Board of Education and school corporation representatives. The new testing format was approved by the 2017 General Assembly following a high-profile shift in public and government opinion of the ISTEP exam, which will be administered by Pearson Education for one more school year.

You can connect to more about the RFP process by clicking here.