Indiana has a long history of issues with standardized testing, with problems going back more than a decade. From the widespread challenges of ISTEP+ from 2011-2015, to the changes in testing formats and vendors, consistency has been elusive. In the most recent round of ILEARN testing, nearly 70% of Indiana students failed to meet proficiency in both Math and English Language Arts (WFYI, 2024). When coupled with the learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no wonder that many parents and educators are calling these scores "absurd" and "worthless."
But the bigger question: should schools be defined by the results of a one-time, standardized test administered each spring? Are these tests truly representative of all learners across the varied communities of our state?
The answer is a resounding no.
Schools are not defined by arbitrary numbers that fail to capture the full scope of what education truly means. While test scores are often widely debated among parents and school staff throughout Indiana, we must remember that schools are living, breathing entities. Schools are so much more than just a snapshot of performance on a spring day.
Schools are the bright, inquisitive eyes of the children who walk through the doors each day, eager to learn. They are the teachers who spend countless hours preparing lessons and losing sleep, worrying about the well-being and academic progress of their students. Schools are about so much more than academic assessments—they are about music, theater, sports, and extracurricular activities that provide students with an outlet for creativity and personal growth.
Take, for example, the arts. If you’ve ever been in band, choir, or theater, you know the profound sense of family and belonging that these programs create. For many students, these activities are not just hobbies—they are lifelines, places where they find connection and meaning. Students who struggle to fit into traditional academic environments often find their place and identity through the arts.
Athletics, too, provide valuable lessons in drive, determination, teamwork, and fair play. Students learn discipline, perseverance, and how to work toward a common goal. These are life lessons that can’t be measured by a test score.
Schools are family. They are the extended homes for students, often offering the only safe, supportive environment some children will know. For those who live in difficult circumstances, school can be a refuge—a place where they feel valued, cared for, and seen. A standardized test will never capture the depth of what schools truly represent in the lives of our children.
We must not let test scores undermine our schools. In these challenging times, we should stand behind our educational institutions, ensuring they have the resources to support every student's unique needs.
Our schools are not defined by test scores. Our schools are defined by the lives they shape, the dreams they nurture, and the futures they build. Let’s remember that and support them in every way we can.
This article was written by Anderson Community Schools (ACS) Superintendent Dr. Joe Cronk and appeared in The Herald Bulletin on September 17, 2024.