Johnson County schools won’t be affected by last year’s ILEARN test results, after Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill to prevent test scores from having an impact on teacher evaluations and overall school letter grades.
The action is called a hold harmless, because schools and teachers will not face any negative consequences for the results. Schools will have the ability to use results from the 2017-18 school year if they are better than the results from last year, said Nora Hoover, superintendent of teaching and learning at Center Grove Community Schools.
The decision will only affect results from last year’s exam, which replaced the ISTEP in serving as the standardized test for students in third through eighth grades. When results came in last summer, they showed a majority of Johnson County students were not proficient in English language arts nor math, according to Indiana Department of Education data.
The results mirrored statewide struggles for students, who had to adjust to a new exam for the second time in five years.
Center Grove schools had the highest marks in the county, with nearly 68% of test takers proficient in math and 63 proficient in English language arts. Still, the hold harmless is a relief for school officials, and a reflection of the effort of Indiana Department of Education Superintendent Jennifer McCormick, Hoover said.
“I appreciate that our legislators took the recommendation from the (state) superintendent who was speaking for all our schools,” Hoover said. “The test is challenging, and in prepping our students for that, we did our best but we’ve all learned a lot. Having that extra year before being graded is good for our students and we’re glad Dr. McCormick led the charge for us.”
The test, which most students took in increments over a two-week period in the spring, was more rigorous than what was seen on the ISTEP. Some of that rigor was intended to prepare students for high school curricula. In the math exams, for example, there was a greater emphasis on algebraic functions.
Edinburgh Community Schools struggled the most with the ILEARN of any Johnson County school district. Less than a quarter of students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades were proficient in math and English language arts. Students struggled the most in eighth-grade math, with 23.6% of students passing. Overall, 28.5% of students in all grade levels were proficient in both. The drop in performance statewide from the 2017-18 to 2018-19 school years proves the test was unsound, Superintendent Doug Arnold said.
“When you look at scores statewide, most scores dropped 20%, and that tells you there’s a problem with the test,” Arnold said. “I hope the state takes a very close look at the assessment tool they’re using to make sure it’s a reliable and valid indicator, and tests what it’s supposed to test. The good thing is, we were held harmless. If we were held to the results, we’d be judged based on results that were not valid and not reliable.”
Edinburgh uses multiple assessments every year to see which areas students are struggling in and bases its curriculum and instruction on its own results, Arnold said.
State leaders made the right decision in holding schools harmless, said David Clendening, Franklin Community Schools superintendent.
“I think it shows excellent foresight and understanding of dynamics and of the assessment piece and (the) learning going on in schools,” Clendening said. “The governor and legislature came together on that, (making) sure kids are growing and not harming any school district."
In addition to the ILEARN, Franklin schools also uses results from Northwest Evaluation Association tests and DIBELS, which tests childhood literacy in kindergarten through sixth grade, to shape instruction. Each Wednesday, teachers gather to discuss what practices work best for them and what strategies they should use to help students who may be struggling in certain areas, Clendening said.
Adjusting curriculum at schools goes beyond preparing for an exam. Educators also need to make sure instruction is best fitted to prepare students for life beyond high school, said Andy Cline, Indian Creek schools assistant superintendent.
“(We’re) focusing on standards we need to look at the most and with more vigor,” Cline said. “We need to look at student success not only for the test, but to be independent adults as they grow older.”
