E-mails obtained by Indy Politics regarding replacing the ISTEP exam show a process that has been marked by dissent and borderline dysfunction.

1. 1 ISTEP-Related Emails Show Dissent and Dysfunction
ISTEP-Related Emails Show Dissent and Dysfunction
E-mails obtained by Indy Politics regarding replacing the ISTEP exam show a process that has
been marked by dissent and borderline dysfunction. Indiana lawmakers have been looking to
replace the exam and formed a special committee to come up with a new exam. That directive
was given back in March, but the panel appears to be no closer to completing its task with a
December 1 deadline fast approaching and there is an inference the process may not comply
with federal law. Here are some of the e-mail excerpts from committee members...
It began back in July with a screen shot of a tweet from Ritz’s political campaign.
Which then led to this e-mail from Blackford County School Superintendent Scot
Croner…
Fellow Committee Members,
I do not typically take issue with items via email but since we are not meeting for another month I feel this
is the only way to address this matter in a timely manner.
I was made aware of the following petition that was posted on one of our committee members Twitter
accounts today by a fellow educator. The petition reads:
"Sign the petition below if you believe that we should get rid of the ISTEP - for real. We should NOT
simply replace it with the same test of a different name!
Last Spring, the Legislature and Governor promised to get rid of the ISTEP. They created a 23-member
committee to decide what to replace it with, but after the committee's third meeting today, it became
abundantly clear that they have no such plan to actually replace this costly, high-stakes, pass/fail test.
Tell the governor's appointees on the committee: replace the ISTEP with a test that actually informs
instruction and lets us know in a timely manner how our students are succeeding."
I cannot express how utterly disappointed I am that a fellow committee member would post such a
divisive item. I am just as dissatisfied with the slow pace of our progress as anyone; but believe that the
process is necessary. Taking our disagreements to social media is not appropriate and will only help
further politicize our work. As an educator (quite frankly) I am tired of the politics that have created a
dysfunctional system.

2. 2 ISTEP-Related Emails Show Dissent and Dysfunction
It is not my intentions to offend or embarrass anyone on our committee. I simply wish to state my feelings
on this matter in the hopes that it dissuades others from further politicizing our work. I have a tremendous
amount of respect for each person on our committee; and I hope to continue to work together as long as it
takes for us to make the right recommendation for our students, our educators, and our state.
Sincerely,
Scot D. Croner, PhD
Superintendent
Several members of the ISTEP Panel expressed their agreement with Superintendent
Croner
Scot,
Thank you very much for expressing your thoughts and sharing with the rest of us! I support your position
and believe this is divisive. The committee needs to work together as a team and not cause controversy
in the midst of our work!
Respectfully,
Ken Folks
Amen on all counts!
Chuck Weisenbach, Principal
Roncalli High School
Good for you, Scot...I couldn't agree more! The work we have been entrusted to do is too important for
anyone to be working against a successful outcome.
Best,
Marilyn
On September 15 Superintendent Glenda Ritz put out a news release expressing her
frustration with the ISTEP panel and would go forward with her own plan to replace the
test. That led this e-mail being sent to the panel by Marilyn Moran-Townsend, the CEO of
CVC Communications
Fellow ISTEP Alternative Panel Members,
Boy, am I disappointed with Supt. Ritz. As you will see in her press release below my signature, she cites
"months of inaction from by ISTEP Replacement Panel" (direct quote including grammatical error). “Like
Hoosiers across the state, I am frustrated by the lack of progress being made by the ISTEP Replacement
Panel,” said Ritz. "While no meaningful discussion has yet taken place on these topics,...."

3. 3 ISTEP-Related Emails Show Dissent and Dysfunction
As you will recall, this is the second time that Supt. Ritz has disrespected our Panel Members, as if she
was not a member of the Panel. That important fact appears nowhere in the news release
below. Shouldn't these disrespectful comments apply as much to Supt. Ritz as to all of us?
You may wonder why she would release such a disrespectful missive. I might be able to shed
light. Following yesterday's Panel meeting, Supt. Ritz called a meeting with her appointees to the Panel
to share her draft plan. Because Supt. Ritz said her door is always open, I attended. I actually attempted
to contribute some questions for her to consider. Supt. Ritz concluded that she intended to roll out her
plan after she received the results of the recently-released RFI which, she stated, "might yield fresh ideas
and best practices to include in my plan." We all agreed this was prudent. I can only assume that my
presence caused Supt. Ritz to alter her intentions and abandon all attempts at collaboration in favor of
seeking personal political gain. In so doing, she also showed that she cared more about being first out
with a plan than she cares about the "fresh ideas and best practices" she hoped would be harvested from
the RFI. Wow. How disappointing.
Let me share what I did following Supt. Ritz's meeting: I contacted business colleagues and told them
that I would not reveal the specifics of Supt. Ritz's plan because it was shared in confidence. I
communicated that I didn't agree with all of it, but there were some ideas that should receive serious
consideration and I wanted to find a way to make that happen. I also communicated the challenge: We
are so close to an important election and Supt. Ritz has political adversaries. I spent several hours
yesterday, trying to think of a way that Supt. Ritz's plan could be among multiple plans that would lead to
a collaborative decision by the Panel and, more importantly, favorable consideration and adoption by the
legislature of a really good plan. I spent much time yesterday, working with key panel members to hatch
this concept.
Our work is too important to let petty politics derail it. I still have high hopes that we will develop THE
BEST Assessment System in the country. I will share one idea in Supt. Ritz's plan that I personally like,
which she shared was actually suggested by former State Supt. Dr. Suellen Reed: the concept of a
Writing Assessment that is based on Civics or Social Studies subjects...combining these 2 important
areas.
To conclude, I almost turned down this appointment because I was so disgusted with the politics and
gamesmanship I had witnessed during meetings of the State Board of Education. I was assured that this
Panel would be different, and I have been so impressed with the quality of Panel members and I have
really enjoyed participating in your "meaningful discussion." As the Business representative on the Panel,
I'm counting on ALL of us to act like grown-ups who are really focused on the educational success of our
state's children.

4. 4 ISTEP-Related Emails Show Dissent and Dysfunction
Ritz then sent this to the ISTEP panel in an attempt to clarify her position on ISTEP and
why she sent out the news release
From Superintendent Ritz to the ISTEP Panel regarding the news release her office sent out regarding
the ISTEP Exam
To the members of the Panel to Study Alternatives to the ISTEP Program Test:
I am writing to you today to provide further context to my press release and some background information
of which you may not be aware.
While all of us share the goal of advancing our work and replacing ISTEP, as Superintendent, I have a
unique responsibility to this work. I am honored to be a member of a group of professionals who all have
ideas about how to create a student-centered assessment system.
However, as I stated in my press release, I am frustrated, as I know many of you are and have expressed
publicly, not in the membership of the panel, but rather in the process that has not allowed for the
expertise of panel members to be fully utilized. Like you, I am frustrated that after five meetings we only
have come to a decision on a vision statement. Students, educators and families are relying on us to
make decisions and get rid of ISTEP.
I know many of us have been meeting with stakeholders and developing draft plans to make our vision a
reality. Prior to the September meeting, Department staff met with the Governor’s office and panel chair
regarding two proposals that could advance our work – submitting a RFI to the field and adding an
agenda item to the September meeting to allow the panel to discuss my comprehensive draft assessment
initiative that would have allowed us to make decisions even prior to receiving RFI responses and give a
whole system context to the high school conversation.
However, rather than granting both requests, a decision was made to limit the discussion to high school
assessments during our September meeting. This sentiment was later reflected in the letter from the
panel chair.
Therefore, to be respectful of that decision, I refrained from sending my draft assessment initiative to the
entire committee. Instead, I chose to use the month of September to gather some additional feedback
from various stakeholders.
I began that process after our last meeting when I asked my appointees to meet with me and provide
some initial input on the draft. I have made edits to the draft as a result of that meeting. Additionally, at
their suggestion, the draft plan will be shared with my Superintendent’s Advisory Committee next
week. The draft proposal will then be shared with panel members in advance of our next meeting. This
will allow you to have time to read and reflect prior to the October meeting, as Dr. Croner, Dr. Robinson
and Marilyn Townsend did prior to our last meeting.
As Superintendent, I have a responsibility to students, families and educators. It is my job to
communicate with them and let them know that I remain committed to this process and to getting rid of
ISTEP once and for all. It is my duty to present ideas from the Department since it is the Department that
implements the state’s assessment system.
My office has been working diligently within the process of this panel as stipulated by the Governor’s
office. However, time and opportunity for advancing the conversation for how we can replace ISTEP is
slipping away. That is why I chose to put out the attached press release to let the public know that as
Superintendent I have a comprehensive draft proposal for a student-centered assessment system that
addresses all six areas of our charge, including saving time and money. I look forward to sharing it in
greater detail later with the public, after presenting it to all of you.

5. 5 ISTEP-Related Emails Show Dissent and Dysfunction
It is the responsibility of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to have a plan. I believe that this draft
proposal will spark a robust conversation that will ultimately lead us to meet the vision of our panel and
honor the six areas outlined in law. I look forward to our next meeting and to making recommendations
that result in the end of the ISTEP test.
On September 16, ISTEP panel member Ayana Coles expressed frustration with an
assessment expert use the term “assessment illiterate” as part of his explanation of the
complicated process at a meeting earlier in the week…
Hello Everyone,
I know it’s not ideal to get emails on a Friday evening, however I feel compelled to address the recent
comments made in reference to the question I asked in our meeting Tuesday. I apologize for the length
of this email, but I feel the need to speak up.
When I was asked to be a part of this panel I was excited about the opportunity to change an assessment
system that has damaged education for so many years. While I didn’t have any expectations I did have
hope. I hoped we would discuss how negative aspects of the current assessments being used and
discuss remedies to fix it. I am a researcher at heart so I tend to spend a lot of time just listening and
trying to process all the information given to us before I make a statement. Because I am an elementary
educator I am not familiar with assessments used in high school. My unfamiliarity caused me to ask a
simple question about the past use of ECA’s. This question had nothing to do with my understanding of
assessments and in NO WAY means I am assessment illiterate. I am actually anything but illiterate,
instead I am all too familiar with assessments. I have been an educator for the past 10 years, and have
worked in some of the toughest settings. I have seen firsthand what our current assessment practices do
to students of color and students who come from lower socioeconomic populations. Not only have my
experiences as an educator informed my knowledge of assessments I also have a wealth of education
including a Masters degree in Language Education, an administrative license with a concentration on
urban education, and I am currently finishing up my education doctorate at Indiana University. As a
result of my studies, I have spent a significant amount of time studying how education has failed students
who come from marginalized communities. This failure is largely due to poor assessment
practices. Additionally, I am a mother of 3. My son and daughter attend schools that consistently receive
a F rating due to ISTEP scores. I see how their schools cater to the test at the expense of quality
instruction and building relationships. I’ve seen teachers quit in our most needed areas because they
don’t know how to get students to pass the test and feel like a failure. I’ve experienced students struggle
to pass the test because their background knowledge and experiences are not connected to the content
of the assessment. I know how the assessment doesn’t really measure what a child truly knows but is
used to determine rather or not they should be medicated because they can’t sit still during test prep. I
know how assessments hinder teacher development because the focus is on test prep practices instead
of teaching the whole child.

6. 6 ISTEP-Related Emails Show Dissent and Dysfunction
My question, that took all of one-minute to answer, was simply for clarification and in no way has impeded
this process. Maybe the problem lies in the timeline and the task itself. Is it possible that this task was
too ambitious? Maybe more consideration should have been given to the amount of time it would take a
panel of over 20 people with a variety of experience to make a decision. As stated previously, I have
spent a significant amount of time listening to presentations and conversations taking place waiting for a
time to comment. After reflecting on my silence I realize, I don’t know how to have a conversation about
assessments without discussing key parts of what is currently wrong. Key parts such as teacher
evaluations and testing biases. Did you all know 70% of African American students and 60% of Latino
students did not pass the ISTEP in the 2014-15 school year? I’m sure the scores will be much worse this
year. This is a serious problem. Clearly the assessment privileges certain groups over others. Do you
think there is a correlation between the rise in crime in communities of color and education
experiences? I do, and I believe the use of ISTEP is one of the reasons we are not teaching the whole
child. The focus is on test prep and our neediest students are suffering.
Yes, I have been quiet and often confused about how we are to accomplish the task at hand with how the
meetings have gone. We have a problem in this country educating marginalized students and this test is
a major factors causing the problem. Again my hope was that this panel would address the issues with
ISTEP and look at alternatives. I don’t know how we can address it without truly understanding the
problem. In spite of this I am STILL hopeful. However while I am hopeful, I am also offended. I do not
appreciate being called assessment illiterate. I hope that as we continue our sessions we will all use
respectful language when describing one another especially to the press.
Sincerely,
Ayana Coles
The most recent correspondence with the State Board of Education infers that current
efforts to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act may not be in compliance with
federal law.
IASP News
● Todd attended the DOE Listening Tour in Terre Haute and felt it did not reflect the intent of ESSA
to offer “meaningful stakeholder engagement.” A 10 minute script was read as a power point was
shown and the DOE representative stated that no questions were to be taken. Each speaker was
then limited to 3 minutes and additional DOE reps took notes. The DOE had about 8
representatives in attendance, but offered no interaction around the ESSA topics. Todd spoke on
the issues of Enrollment % for Accountability, Pre-K focusing on high need kids, the School
Improvement Plan process should maintain maximum flexibility for schools, and the state plan
should include the 3% set aside within Title II A funds for leadership development.