School Accountability grades are out and more Indiana schools have received top state ratings under results from last spring’s ISTEP standardized exams.
Ratings released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education show 29.5 percent of the state’s schools received an A grade for 2016-17, up about 6 percentage points from the previous school year.
The number of schools with B ratings fell about the same amount, while there was little change among lower ratings. About 6 percent of schools were given F grades.
Locally, most schools’ grades were the same or similar to what they earned during the 2015-16 school year.
Southwest Dubois School Corporation schools such as Southridge High School and Middle School both stayed at their 2015-16 grade levels with B grades.
Holland Elementary saw a two grade improvement to an A from a C the previous year. Huntingburg Elementary however dropped two letter grades from a B to a D.
In the Southeast Dubois District Forest Park Jr.-Sr. High School improved from a B grade to an A. Both Pine Ridge and Ferdinand Elementary Schools stayed at the top with A’s.
Cedar Crest Intermediate however fell from an A to a B last year.
Greater Jasper Schools all earned the same grades as the year before with Jasper High School earning an A grade, Ireland Elementary was also tops with an A.
Jasper Middle School picked up a B and both Fifth Street School and Tenth Street Elementary earned B grades.
Holy Trinity Catholic School also secured an A.
And Northeast Dubois High School picked up an A one better than the year before while Celestine Elementary and Dubois Middle School maintained A rankings. Dubois Elementary School slid from an A to a B last school year.
According to the IDOE, nearly 25 percent of Indiana schools improved one or more letter grades, with the total number of A rated schools increasing by close to 6 percent. Overall, 62 percent of schools received an A or B.
This year’s ratings are much more stable than a year ago, when the number of schools receiving A grades fell by half after an overhaul of the ISTEP exam.
State schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick says another major shake-up will come with the state’s switch to a new student test replacing ISTEP in 2019.
A complete listing can be found at www.doe.in.gov/accountability/find-school-and-corporation-data-reports
