Students below average on state tests countywide

The average percentage of St. Joseph County students who tested proficient on new 2015 state assessment tests was below the state average at every grade level and in every subject.
A report compiled by the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District shows that score disparity was greatest on the fifth-grade social studies test, while the countywide grade-level averages in English and language arts were only slightly below the statewide proficiency average.
The majority of students took computerized tests. Diane Talo, ISD director of instructional leadership, said some students spent as much as 20 hours to complete all sections of the tests that rely less on multiple choice answers and more on choosing best solutions and demonstrating evidence to support an answer.
M-STEP tests English/language arts and math in grades 3- 8; science, grades 4 and 7; and social studies, grades 5 and 8.