INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana saw a dramatic drop in schools receiving "A" ratings for the 2015-2016 school year – a consequence of new, more rigorous standards, according to the state Department of Education.
The grades, released Tuesday, are "the new baseline," according to Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz.
"This year, Indiana implemented a new student-centered school accountability system utilizing Indiana’s new, more rigorous standards and assessments for the first time," Ritz said in a written statement. "For those reasons, the 2015-16 school year establishes a new baseline for school accountability grades in Indiana. Moving forward, the Department of Education will continue to support students, educators and schools with the important work of school improvement.”
The grades show a greater than 50-percent drop in schools receiving an "A" rating compared to the 2014-2015 school year. In all, 501 schools received a "A" grade for 2015-2016, compared to 1,176 schools that received the same grade in 2014-2015.
This was the first year since 2012 that Indiana has not had more "A"-rated schools than the previous year.
The number of schools receiving the lowest rating of "F" more than doubled, increasing to 130 from 53 the previous year.
The charts below detail the number of traditional public, charter and private schools receiving each letter grade for the 2015-2015 school year:
Indianapolis Public Schools also saw a drop in "A"-rated schools, falling from 12 in the previous two years to just three in 2015-2016. The number of "F"-rated schools increased to 28 from 13 the previous year.
The district released the following statement about the scores Tuesday afternoon:
“In alignment with statewide trends, Indianapolis Public Schools experienced dips in ISTEP+ scores. Several IPS schools demonstrated significant student growth from the previous school year, which is a more accurate measure of instructional gains. IPS is committed to ensuring each student experiences at least one grade level of academic progress annually. We commend our hard-working educators for consistently creating environments which foster academic growth, and we commend our students for doing their best at all times.”
Click here to see how your child's school was rated for the 2015-2016 school year.
