Franklin school officials are looking to improve teacher collaboration and better aligning its curriculum after it received some of the worst school letter grades among the county’s six public school districts.
When the Indiana Department of Education released school letter grades earlier this month, it allowed some leeway. Due to statewide under-performance on the inaugural ILEARN exam, school administrators could choose to use the grades they received for the 2017-18 school year if those were better. Almost all Johnson County schools did, with the exception of three Franklin schools, which performed better during the 2018-19 school year than the year before.
Those schools were Union Elementary School, which went to an A from a B, as well as Northwood and Creekside elementary schools, both of which went to Bs from Cs. School letter grades are based on student test scores, student growth and graduation rates.
Last month, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill to prevent test scores from the inaugural ILEARN exam from impacting letter grades and teacher evaluations. The action, called a hold harmless, means schools and teachers will not face any consequences for last year’s results.
Despite fewer of its schools receiving Cs, current grades still leave room for improvement, and Superintendent David Clendening is making sure students are better prepared for this year’s exam by having Franklin teachers communicate with each other more on what is and isn’t working as students prepare for the test this spring, Clendening said.
"(We’re looking at) what’s key to individual student growth and what the state is saying on the blueprint for ILEARN," Clendening said. "We’ve had teacher conversations. Instructional coaches continue to go in and talk with teachers about what good instruction looks like. Teachers are the best resource. We got to continue to work together in a collaborative environment."
The hold harmless is in effect this year as well, meaning school officials can choose between whichever grade they opted for this year and the grade they receive next year, said Adam Baker, spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Education.
Edinburgh Community Middle School stuck with the C it received during the 2017-18 school year. To improve performance, school officials are offering more professional development opportunities to middle school teachers.
Students around the state struggled with the exam — more than half of lacked proficiency — which is evidence the exam is fundamentally flawed, said Doug Arnold, Edinburgh Community Schools superintendent.
“There’s a problem when you have such a dramatic drop in testing statewide,” Arnold said. “It tells you something is wrong with the test.”
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Here is a look at letter grades for every school in the Franklin Community School Corporation. Five of the eight schools opted to be held harmless for last year’s test scores, and keep their 2017-18 letter grades:
<ul>
<li>Needham Elementary School – C</li>
<li>Union Elementary School – A*</li>
<li>Franklin Community High School – B</li>
<li>Franklin Community Middle School – C</li>
<li>Custer Baker Intermediate School – C</li>
<li>Northwood Elementary School – B*</li>
<li>Webb Elementary School – C</li>
<li>Creekside Elementary School – B*</li>
</ul>
*Chose 2018-19 letter grade
Source: Indiana Department of Education
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