Evansville residents hold rally against ISTEP+ exam’s length

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) – A handful of people upset about Indiana’s ISTEP+ exam staged a protest against the test in Evansville, one holding aloft a sign reading “Too Much Testing.”

The Evansville Courier & Press reports Saturday’s “I-Step out” rally called for eliminating ISTEP+ and other standardized testing in 2016 and replacing it with an alternative assessment test.

Kimberly Bernfeld, an Evansville mother of two elementary age children, said she and the others at the rally want lawmakers to “know we want to see some serious changes with standardized testing in the classroom.”

State schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz announced Friday the state would cut about three hours from ISTEP+’s testing time.

Bernfeld argues the exam takes too long to complete and shortening the nine-to-12-hour test by three hours isn’t good enough.