Despite widespread calls to cancel standardized testing as they were last fall, the annual student assessment remains a federal and state requirement.
But Monroe County Community School Corporation Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Markay Winston said students have been deprived of in-person instruction due to the pandemic, and remote instruction just isn’t the same.
“We don’t think that assessing our children in the midst of this pandemic is going to give us accurate and reliable information about the skills that our children possess," Winston said.
The U.S. and Indiana departments of education say that assessment data is important to address students’ learning loss during the pandemic, according to Tuesday news releases.
There will be less emphasis on accountability measures, and Indiana has requested a waiver for federal accountability requirements, including the provision for a 95% test participation rate.
Winston said MCCSC’s plans should be solidified by next week.
