Fort Wayne Schools Will Not Continue With Online ISTEP+ Exam

Kyle Stokes / StateImpact Indiana

Laptops are set up with pencils and scratch paper at the ready in a temporary testing lab at Tecumseh Junior High in Lafayette.

Fort Wayne Community Schools announced Monday the district will halt administering online ISTEP+ exams and wait instead for paper tests.

“After several days of computer network issues related to CTB-McGraw Hill’s servers, we lost confidence that testing could take place without the extensive interruptions students experienced last year,” superintendent Wendy Robinson said in a statement. “We refuse to subject students and staff to the probability of the same thing happening this year. Our students deserve the opportunity to be tested in an environment that is conducive to their success.”

ISTEP+ testing began today statewide with few reported issues. Superintendent Glenda Ritz told reporters after the State Board meeting she was not aware of any statewide problems.

As we reported last week, many schools statewide experienced computer problems while administering the practice test.