Question from GOP Governor’s Debate: Should Indiana hold students back who don’t pass I-READ?
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Five Republican candidates hoping for the job of Indiana governor debated live for 90 minutes Wednesday night from the historic Madam Walker Legacy Center on WISH-TV.
The five invited candidates were Mike Braun, Brad Chambers, Suzanne Crouch, Eric Doden, and Curtis Hill.
A new Indiana law passed this spring requires school districts to hold back third-grade students who do not pass the I-READ test.
News 8 asked the candidates: Should Indiana hold students back who don’t pass the I-READ test?
Only Crouch and Chambers support the new law, based on a show of hands.
Braun says if Hoosiers can’t get their kids to read better than they did 10 years ago, something needs to be done. He wants “more choice, more competition and something completely different,” with a comprehensive review of Indiana’s education system to find the solution. It has to start with teaching kids basic skill sets so that they leave high school with more than Indiana is giving them.
Hill, who notes his wife is a high school English teacher, says children need individual plans. Reading, writing and arithmetic are important, but civics education should also be included in a revamped education system, with fewer federal entanglements and the shrinking of the Indiana Department of Education.
Chambers says Indiana’s educational system is “backwards-looking” and leaves children with literacy challenges. He says 35% of sixth graders are struggling on their standardized math exams. Private education, “choice,” and teacher pay need to be considered as alternatives.
Crouch says reading by the third grade is necessary to be successful, and parents need to have more control over what their children learn. She’d focus education on reading, writing, arithmetic and reasoning. “We will teach our children how to think, not what to think.” She’d also make workforce training available through just one state agency instead of five. She’d also support more money in classrooms.
Doden says his plan supports “parents having choice,” vouchers, “competition,” and teacher investment. Teachers also would not pay income or property taxes under his plan. “We’re doing this directly to the teacher so that administration and the unions do not get their cut.” He also wants to address early education with a surplus in the state budget.