All six Johnson County school districts outperformed the state average on the IREAD-3 exam, an annual third-grade literacy exam the Indiana Department of Education administers in the spring.
Local proficiency rates ranged from 82.7% at Franklin schools to 94.1% at Indian Creek schools, surpassing the state’s average of 81.9% on the exam. Though the rates, were above average, all six school districts had lower proficiency rates compared to 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to IDOE data.
Franklin schools had both the highest and lowest proficiency in the county among individual schools, as 96.7% of students at Union Elementary School and 73.7% of Northwood Elementary School students were rated proficient, according to the data.
There isn’t a difference in reading instruction between the schools, but it is likely demographics played a role in the disparities in performance, said Brooke Worland, assistant superintendent. At Northwood, 58.4% of students are economically disadvantaged, while at Union, just 23.4% of students are. Additionally, 19.2% of Northwood students have a disability, compared to 10.5% of students at Union, according to IDOE data.
To help boost student proficiency, Franklin administrators have partnered with Marian University. The university provided Franklin teachers training in the “science of reading,” reading instruction required by the IDOE that focuses on five key components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Funding from the Lilly Endowment is also paying part of the salary of literacy coaches at each Franklin elementary school for the next two school years, Worland said.
Clark-Pleasant schools had the steepest drop in performance since 2019, when 93% of students were proficient on the IREAD. During the spring 2023 exam, just 83.9% of students met proficiency standards, according to IDOE data.
The downward trend has been seen throughout the state. In 2019, 87.3% of Hoosier students met proficiency standards on the IREAD, compared to 81.9% in 2023, according to the data. The pandemic shut down schools when third graders who took the IREAD in the spring were in kindergarten and is still having an effect on how quickly students are able to meet literacy benchmarks, said Tim Edsell, superintendent of Clark-Pleasant schools.
“In the three years since 2020 — from the pandemic — there has been significant learning loss in reading, in math and standardized assessment scores and that shows throughout the entire state,” Edsell said. “Clark-Pleasant and every school has implemented more intensive and more personalized remediation. It will take time to correct and get our kids caught back up to speed.”
Getting students caught up involves emulating some of the strategies from Break-O-Day Elementary School, which had a 91.4% proficiency rate, the highest mark at Clark-Pleasant schools, said Cassandra Shipp, assistant superintendent.
“They have parent night with second and third-grade parents, where we have stations set up so parents can understand what is being covered on the IREAD,” Shipp said. “Parents do IREAD examples themselves so they know what students have to do to show mastery. We also have second graders take the IREAD. For students who don’t pass the IREAD, they can review the results and know which students need mediation or extra practice.”
Students at Edinburgh schools also take the exam in second grade, allowing them to take it a second time in third grade if they don’t pass it initially, Superintendent Ron Ross said in an email.
“We analyze the results to see our strengths and weaknesses. We make any necessary revisions to better serve our students. We are exploring how we can begin to implement the science of reading curriculum,” he said. “We have a reading interventionist who helps us analyze the data to make sure that we are really targeting the areas of greatest need.”
At Indian Creek schools, which had the highest ILEARN proficiency rate in the county, teachers work on literacy and comprehension skills throughout the school year, not just in the months leading up to the exam, said Sally Ankney, a third-grade teacher at Indian Creek Intermediate School.
“Third grade is a foundational year when it comes to reading and this helps them prepare for future success. Our whole grade team, we all work together to help all students have a successful learning environment throughout the whole year, starting in August,” she said. “We focus on teaching the reading skills, not just that you can read the words but comprehension skills with sequencing and main idea, helping them apply those skills to whatever passage or story they’re reading.”
