INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The latest on issues surrounding Indiana’s standardized school testing (all times local):

6 a.m.

The Indiana Department of Education says 54 percent of the students who took the ISTEP standardized test last year passed both the language arts and mathematics portions. 

That’s a sharp drop from the 74.7 percent of students who passed both sections in 2014. Officials say the drop was expected because of changes that made the test more difficult.

The Department of Education announced the results Wednesday. But the department says the 2014 and 2015 scores aren’t comparable because of “more rigorous college and career ready standards.”

The tests were adjusted after national Common Core standards were scrapped in favor of new, Indiana-written guidelines.

Lawmakers have been considering removing any negative influences the test scores might have on school districts and teacher pay.

3 a.m.

An Indiana Senate education committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on sparing schools from being penalized for poor student performance on the 2015 ISTEP exams.

The measure by Sen. Dennis Kruse would spare schools seeing their A-through-F grades drop from their 2014 scores as a result of low scores on the 2015 exams, which were plagued by problems.

The Auburn Republican’s bill is supported by Gov. Mike Pence and Republican legislative leaders, as well as Democratic state schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz.

The bill is one of two measures dealing with the ISTEP that have been fast tracked by lawmakers eager to tamp down unease over scores, which dropped dramatically in 2015 as a result of stringent new standards

The other measure would not lower teachers’ performance pay as a result of low student scores. It is also scheduled for a Wednesday hearing.