The Indiana Department of Education released a list of options for calculating school accountability grades for the 2014-15 school year.
This was a year of big change for Indiana schools. The state rolled out an entirely new set of academic standards and an updated ISTEP+ test to match. Student scores are often low the first year an exam is introduced – which has many Hoosier leaders concerned over how schools would be held accountable.
Luckily, the state has options. The U.S. Department of Education has offered states – including Indiana – the option for some flexibility.
In response, a Senate committee asked Indiana’s Department of Ed to create a list of ideas regarding how schools will receive A-F grades for the 2014-15 school year – and the department has come up with a list of 12 options.
DOE staff is recommending an option it calls “Hold Harmless,” which would assign each school the better A-F grade received between the2013-14 and 2014-15 school years.
Michelle Walker, Interim Director of Accountability at the D-O-E, says this option is aligned to both state statutory requirements as well as federal flexibility standards, but it would not require legislative action.
"I think our challenge is we want to hold harmless for schools so that they have the benefit of the highest grade, but the interventions that are needed are still going to continue for students," says Walker.
The State Board of Education will discuss the options at their meeting Wednesday. The board eventually needs to approve whatever option the state decides to pursue, since the group has final approval of all school grades.
