Indiana Governor Mike Pence today sent a letter to Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz and the Indiana State Board of Education informing them that he is reaching out to the Indiana General Assembly and legislation is  being crafted to ensure that test results do not negatively impact teacher evaluations or performance bonuses this year.

Due to changes in the ISTEP test scores were expected to drop.  Pence told lawmakers he did believe teachers should be penalized because of the new exam he was taking steps to mitigate that.

Senate Pro Tempore David Long released the following statement…

“Indiana’s new college and career-ready standards are Hoosier driven and raise the bar for academic achievement in our state. It was anticipated that we would see this initial drop in the test scores tied to our new standards. This has occurred in other states that have toughened and improved their educational standards and testing. It is a testament to the hard work of our teachers and students that they have performed better than their peers in many of those other states.  As we make this transition with our new standards and test, it is important to be as fair as possible to our students, teachers and schools. It appears that accomplishing this goal may require legislative action, and Senate Republicans are prepared to act as needed. I’m confident we can find a way to modify portions of our accountability system for one year without suspending it.”

 Superintendent  Ritz has called for putting a moratorium on accountability measures due to the recent changes in the ISTEP exam.  Her office released the following statement…

“This is a welcome first step from the Governor.  Unfortunately, it comes after a year and a half of uncertainty and worry for our students, teachers and schools that was entirely unnecessary.  Superintendent Ritz supports strong accountability as long as it is fair, open and transparent.  The Superintendent looks forward to working with Indiana’s leadership to take advantage of federal flexibility for both teacher evaluations and the assignment of A-F accountability grades for the 2014-15 school year.”