Indiana education officials are laying the groundwork for a new A-F accountability system they said is aligned with what Hoosiers agree are the characteristics important to lifelong success.
The State Board of Education welcomed the first draft Wednesday on the K-12 measure that will go into effect next year to better prepare students for the future, they said.
It dovetails with the state’s newly revised diploma that becomes effective with the Class of 2029. It focuses on three areas – students preparing for college, the military or direct employment after high school.
“To best prepare students for the future – whether their next steps include college, a career or military service – we know that both knowledge and real-world skills are essential to their success,” said Gov. Mike Braun in a release.
The new characteristics that indicators will measure are academic mastery, career and postsecondary readiness, credentials, experiences and work ethic.
The process, built upon multiple rounds of public comment and feedback, is likely to consume most of the year.
Its main change, however, is testing assessment scores will no longer be the sole letter grade criteria for school evaluations.
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A state law, authored by House Education Chairman Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, calls for two drafts, each with a 30-day public comment period. The first public comment period opens later this summer, but officials said the public can provide immediate feedback via Jotform, an online feedback/survey tool.
The state also requires the State Board of Education to adopt a final draft of the A-F grading scale by Dec. 31.
Democrats argued its results could still be punitive on schools with lower poverty rates.
Schools have not received letter grades since 2018 when the DOE moved from the ISTEP exam to a new accountability test called ILEARN. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted testing, and no grades were assigned.
Presently, the state’s assessment system rates students in grades 3-8 based on academic performance and growth on ILEARN.
High school grades are based on SAT scores, graduation rates and college and career readiness.
The new grading system is expected to focus on math, English and literacy mastery in the lower grades and a shift toward skill development and work-based opportunities and credentials in high school.
To offer feedback, see https://idoe.jotform.com/251525933524962
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter at the Post-Tribune.