After news that this year’s ISTEP+ would take students twelve hours to complete, the Department of Education adopted a plan Thursday to shorten the test.
The DOE decided to split the open-ended portion of the test, which begins next week, into two forms. They say that will shave three hours off the original twelve-hour test.
Around 30 percent of the current test consists of pilot questions that don’t count toward a student’s score – those are the questions the DOE split between the two forms.
Half of the state’s schools will test using one form, and half will use the other. Every student in a given school will complete the same form, but an individual district could see both among its member schools- that’s to ensure that questions are piloted by a variety of students.
Legislation allowing the DOE to shorten the ISTEP+ is still moving through the House of Representatives. House speaker Brian Bosma says they will likely issue a final vote Monday, sending it to the Senate.
