While schools saw slight improvements in ILEARN test results this year, student proficiency still lags behind pre-pandemic levels.
The ILEARN test was given to Hoosier students in 2019, when the state moved away from ISTEP+ in favor of the new test. The testing focuses on math and English Language Arts, or ELA, sections for third through eighth grade. Students also take science and social studies tests at some grade levels.
Half of Johnson County school districts saw a year-over-year improvement for ELA, but all local school districts saw math results improve. The percentage of students proficient in both the math and ELA sections also improved for all but one school district, Clark-Pleasant schools, which saw its combined proficiency dip slightly, from 35.5% to 35.1%, according to data from the Indiana Department of Education.
Despite slight improvements, figures at all six local school district fell well below the marks set in the test’s inaugural year of 2019. That mirrors state figures. The state average for combined proficiency in ELA and math dropped from 37.1% in 2019 to 30.2% in 2022, according to the data.
Edinburgh schools had the lowest proficiency level of any county school district, and the only school district with scores lower than the state average. This year, just 28.6% of students met standards in ELA and 29.5% of students were proficient in math, while 18.1% reached the cutoff score in both sections. All three categories were more than 10% lower than they were on the 2019 exam, according to the data.
Edinburgh administrators are committed to raising scores. They have monthly meetings to discuss academic progress, said Ron Ross, superintendent of Edinburgh schools.
“We are disappointed in the results, but student achievement data never tells the full story,” he said in an email. “This is particularly true when you consider what our students and staff have been through since March of 2020. The learning loss over that time is difficult to measure, but it is undeniably present. Edinburgh Community Schools are focusing on growth more than ever before.”
Indian Creek administrators are focused on grade-level achievement analysis, said Tim Edsell, superintendent. For example though Indian Creek students had an overall decrease in English proficiency, fourth and fifth graders scored better on that section than they did last year. In fifth and eighth grade math, the improvement was significant.
“We did see a drop in language arts scores, primarily at the middle school level, and I would tell you this year, compared to last year, we have brand new teachers and there’s a learning curve with brand new teachers,” he said. “Now that they have a year under their belt, we should hopefully see growth this coming year.”
Indian Creek leaders plan to look at schedule adjustments, with extra instructional time for certain grade levels where students struggled the most, said Andrea Perry, assistant superintendent.
“The increase in instructional minutes is critical for improvement and growth,” she said.
Greenwood schools saw the most significant improvements from last year to this year among Johnson County school districts. Proficiency in ELA increased by 5%, math proficiency increased by 3.6%, and students meeting the mark in both subjects rose 4.3%, according to the data.
Individualized tutoring has helped students who faltered in certain subjects get back on the right track, also known as targeted intervention, said Lisa Harkness, Greenwood schools’ curriculum director.
“I am happy with the growth we have made, obviously the growth over last year’s scores is indicative of the hard work and collaboration of teachers, students and families. It’s not where we’d like to be, but we’re going to work hard to get back to where we were pre-COVID and past that point,” Harkness said. “We’ll keep on doing what we’ve been doing and continue to persevere and continue that goal of having high student achievement and expectations.”
Students at Center Grove schools achieved the highest level of proficiency on the exam in the county, with about 60% of students proficient in the ELA and math sections and almost half of students meeting the mark in both. No other school district had more than 37% of students reaching the cutoff score in both sections, according to the data.
Though the district is the highest performing in the county, Center Grove, too, is still below pre-pandemic proficiency. With interventionists added at each school using CARES Act dollars, administrators are hopeful students will be back to that level soon, said Shannon Carroll-Frey, Center Grove’s director of secondary teaching and learning.
Helping teachers with whatever they need to ensure students success is also key, said Nora Hoover, Center Grove’s assistant superintendent of teaching and learning.
“I think having more time with kids, having kids back face-to-face and then being able to go back to some of the instructional practices we had to suspend because of social distancing (will help),” Hoover said. “Also, working on helping teachers be better every year is really important.”
