In a memo sent to superintendents late Friday, the Indiana Department of Education announced Indiana would seek "forgiveness" for required state tests, including the IREAD-3 and ILEARN.

The bill grants a two-year delay on schools receiving a lower A-F state rating based on scores from the 2019 or 2020 ILEARN exams. It also prevents the scores from being used in teacher evaluations.

Indiana teachers and schools will be shielded from penalties from last year's poor statewide standardized test scores.

A significant drop in scores on ILEARN compared to the state's old ISTEP test prompted calls from leaders across the state for lawmakers to avoid penalizing schools through state accountability measures.

Republican legislative leaders are urging the state to use 2018 ISTEP scores for school letter grades and teacher evaluations this school year, instead of 2019 ILEARN scores.

The results reveal just how much lower achievement rates on the test look compared to previous iterations of the states standardized exam.

Educators are pressing for an overhaul of the state's school accountability system.

Policymakers say they want to hold schools harmless for major drops in student achievement on the states new ILEARN test, after mounting pressure from school leaders and parents.

The State Board of Education approved the scores students need in order to reach proficiency on Indianas new standardized test at a meeting Thursday.

Students start taking ILEARN, Indianas new standardized test, this month. Officials say the exam should provide better data to teachers and schools about student performance.