Most of Indiana’s more than 1,800 schools are considered to be meeting or approaching the state’s expectations, according to 2019 federal ratings released Friday.
Few schools — just 87 — rose to “exceeding expectations.” Around 200, or 11%, were not considered to be meeting standards and scored in the lowest category.
The 2019 federal ratings offer the first gauge of how schools performed last year while state A-F grades remain tied up by a potential hold harmless exemption to protect schools from low test scores in the first year of the new ILEARN exam.
The state adopted this second measure in 2017 to comply with new federal requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act without changing state grades. Schools are scored based on whether they are on track to meet the state’s long-term goals in seven different areas: test scores, growth scores, attendance rates, graduation rates, the percentage of students who earn honors diplomas, gaps in passing rates among student groups, and progress for English-language learners.
This is the first year schools were put into categories. In 2018, they were given federal A-F grades, but the Indiana Department of Education altered its approach after the practice was criticized for being confusing.
Find your school’s 2019 federal rating in our searchable database below.