Non English Speaking student’s ISTEP-Plus scores decline with stricter language rule
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Immigrant students’ scores on the state achievement test dropped this year when they had to take the exam regardless of their ability to speak English. Statewide, 45 percent of immigrant third-graders passed the reading section of the ISTEP-Plus in September, according to results released this week. That was down from 52 percent two years ago, the most recent year for which immigrant student data were readily available. Other grades showed similar declines. |
Students in Model Elementary School in Goshen, where about half of the students are immigrants, mostly Hispanic, were allowed to use state-approved translation guides and dictionaries on the ISTEP-Plus in September. “But when you consider how many words you have to read and words you’re not familiar with, I don’t think it benefited our students very much. The kids just don’t have enough strength in the language yet to do that,” said Principal Susan Olinghouse. Students from other countries traditionally have had three years to learn English as a second language before they took mandatory tests. But this year, federal education officials rejected alternate tests for those students in Indiana and 17 other states.
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