The number of Indiana schools that received failing marks roughly doubled, to 130, this year, while the number receiving A grades fell by half under new ratings for the 2015-16 academic year released by the Indiana Department of Education on Tuesday.
Of 110 schools in the WSLM Listening Area of Kentuckiana, only one school received a Failing Grade – the Mt. Tabor School in New Albany Floyd County School District.
Several schools received Ds – including Bradie M. Shrum and Salem Middle School in the Salem Community School Corporation.
Salem High School received a B, which remains the same as the previous two years.
Salem Middle School had received an A grade in the previous two years.
Bradie M. Shrum received a C grade in the previous two years.
East Washington Elementary School received an A. Both East Washington Middle and Eastern High School received a B.
East Washington Elementary improved from a D in both 2014 and 2015. East Washington Middle School dropped from an A in both 2014 and 2015. Eastern High School remained a B in both previous years.
West Washington Elementary School received a B and West Washington Jr/Sr High School received a C. Both schools received a B for the previous two years.
Other D Grades were:
- Ellen Jones Elementary School – New Albany/Floyd Co
- Green Valley Elementary School – New Albany/Floyd Co
- Mitchell Jr. High School – Mitchell Community Schools
- Leavenworth Elementary School – Crawford County Schools
- Austin Middle School – Scott Count District 1
- Seymour Middle School – Seymour School District
- Shoals Jr/Sr High School – Shoals Community School Corp
- Silver Creek Elementary – West Clark Community Schools
- Silver Creek Primary – West Clark Community Schools
The ratings were the first under a new accountability system that had more rigorous standards and assessments. Outgoing state Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said the new system “establishes a new baseline for school accountability grades.”
Schools earning the highest ratings fell to 24 percent, a decline of more than 600 schools.
Here is a full list of 110 schools in WSLM’s coverage area:
| Clarksville Elementary School | Clarksville Community School Corp | C |
| Clarksville Middle School | Clarksville Community School Corp | B |
| Clarksville Senior High School | Clarksville Community School Corp | B |
| Crawford County Jr-Sr HS | Crawford County Community School Corp | B |
| English School | Crawford County Community School Corp | A |
| Leavenworth Elementary School | Crawford County Community School Corp | D |
| Marengo Elementary School | Crawford County Community School Corp | B |
| Milltown School | Crawford County Community School Corp | A |
| Patoka Elementary School | Crawford County Community School Corp | |
| Brown County High School | Brown County School Corporation | B |
| Brown County Intermediate School | Brown County School Corporation | B |
| Brown County Junior High | Brown County School Corporation | C |
| Helmsburg Elementary School | Brown County School Corporation | B |
| Sprunica Elementary School | Brown County School Corporation | A |
| Van Buren Elementary School | Brown County School Corporation | A |
| East Washington Elementary School | East Washington School Corp | A |
| East Washington Middle School | East Washington School Corp | B |
| Eastern High School | East Washington School Corp | B |
| Bridgepoint Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | C |
| Charlestown Middle School | Greater Clark County Schools | C |
| Charlestown Senior High School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Clark County Middle/High School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Jeffersonville High School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Jonathan Jennings Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | A |
| Maple Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| New Washington Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| New Washington Middle/High School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Northaven Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Parkview Middle School | Greater Clark County Schools | C |
| Parkwood Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | C |
| Pleasant Ridge Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | C |
| River Valley Middle School | Greater Clark County Schools | C |
| Riverside Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Spring Hill Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Thomas Jefferson Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Utica Elementary School | Greater Clark County Schools | A |
| W E Wilson Elementary | Greater Clark County Schools | B |
| Lanesville Elementary School | Lanesville Community School Corp | B |
| Lanesville Jr-Sr HS | Lanesville Community School Corp | B |
| Deputy Elementary School | Madison Consolidated Schools | B |
| Emery O Muncie Elementary School | Madison Consolidated Schools | B |
| Lydia Middleton Elementary School | Madison Consolidated Schools | A |
| Madison Consolidated High School | Madison Consolidated Schools | B |
| Madison Consolidated Jr High School | Madison Consolidated Schools | C |
| Rykers’ Ridge Elementary School | Madison Consolidated Schools | C |
| Burris Elementary School | Mitchell Community Schools | C |
| Hatfield Elementary School | Mitchell Community Schools | C |
| Mitchell High School | Mitchell Community Schools | B |
| Mitchell Jr High School | Mitchell Community Schools | D |
| Fairmont Elementary School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | B |
| Floyd Central High School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | A |
| Floyds Knobs Elementary School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | C |
| Georgetown Elementary School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | B |
| Grant Line School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | C |
| Green Valley Elementary School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | D |
| Greenville Elementary School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | A |
| Hazelwood Middle School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | C |
| Highland Hills Middle School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | A |
| Mount Tabor School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | F |
| Nathaniel Scribner Middle School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | C |
| New Albany Senior High School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | B |
| S Ellen Jones Elementary School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | D |
| Slate Run Elementary School | New Albany-Floyd Co Con School | A |
| Morgan Elementary School | North Harrison Com School Corp | A |
| North Harrison Elementary School | North Harrison Com School Corp | B |
| North Harrison High School | North Harrison Com School Corp | B |
| North Harrison Middle School | North Harrison Com School Corp | B |
| Orleans Elementary School | Orleans Community Schools | A |
| Orleans Jr-Sr High School | Orleans Community Schools | B |
| Paoli Jr & Sr High School | Paoli Community School Corp | C |
| Throop Elementary School | Paoli Community School Corp | C |
| Bradie Shrum Elementary | Salem Community Schools | D |
| Salem High School | Salem Community Schools | B |
| Salem Middle School | Salem Community Schools | D |
| Austin Elementary School | Scott County School District 1 | A |
| Austin High School | Scott County School District 1 | C |
| Austin Middle School | Scott County School District 1 | D |
| Johnson Elementary School | Scott County School District 2 | B |
| Lexington Elementary School | Scott County School District 2 | B |
| Scottsburg Elem School | Scott County School District 2 | B |
| Scottsburg Middle School | Scott County School District 2 | B |
| Scottsburg Senior High School | Scott County School District 2 | C |
| Vienna-Finley Elementary School | Scott County School District 2 | B |
| Cortland Elementary School | Seymour Community Schools | A |
| Emerson Elementary School | Seymour Community Schools | B |
| Margaret R Brown Elementary School | Seymour Community Schools | C |
| Seymour Middle School | Seymour Community Schools | D |
| Seymour Senior High School | Seymour Community Schools | B |
| Seymour-Jackson Elementary School | Seymour Community Schools | C |
| Seymour-Redding Elementary School | Seymour Community Schools | B |
| Shoals Comm Jr-Sr High School | Shoals Community School Corp | D |
| Shoals Community Elementary School | Shoals Community School Corp | B |
| Corydon Central High School | South Harrison Com Schools | A |
| Corydon Central Jr High School | South Harrison Com Schools | B |
| Corydon Elementary School | South Harrison Com Schools | B |
| Corydon Intermediate School | South Harrison Com Schools | B |
| Heth-Washington Elementary School | South Harrison Com Schools | B |
| New Middletown Elementary School | South Harrison Com Schools | B |
| South Central Elementary | South Harrison Com Schools | A |
| South Central Jr & Sr High School | South Harrison Com Schools | B |
| Henryville Elementary School | West Clark Community Schools | C |
| Henryville Jr & Sr High School | West Clark Community Schools | B |
| Silver Creek Elementary School | West Clark Community Schools | D |
| Silver Creek High School | West Clark Community Schools | B |
| Silver Creek Middle School | West Clark Community Schools | C |
| Silver Creek Primary School | West Clark Community Schools | D |
| William W Borden Elementary School | West Clark Community Schools | C |
| William W Borden High School | West Clark Community Schools | B |
| West Washington Elementary School | West Washington School Corp | B |
| West Washington Jr-Sr High School | West Washington School Corp | C |
The school grades were based not only on the number of students who pass or fail the ISTEP standardized tests, but on whether those students improved. The new rating model is expected to lead to fewer “A” schools, but help lower-performing schools boost their ratings if students show progress.
Jennifer McCormick, a Republican who is school superintendent in Yorktown and will become the state superintendent in January, raised questions about the new rating model.
“I know there are a lot of people still very concerned. A lot of it was just back to the administration of the exam. Does it really reflect what we’re getting done in schools?” McCormick said.
“I want to thank Indiana’s students, educators and families for their countless hours of work over the last academic year.,” Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said in a release. “This year, Indiana implemented a new student-centered school accountability system utilizing Indiana’s new, more rigorous standards and assessments for the first time.”
In all, 23.6 percent of schools earned an A, 38.9 percent received a B, 22.7 percent got a C grade, 8.8 percent received a D and 6.1 percent got an F, Department of Education data show.
Chalkbeat Indiana has put together a searchable database that lets users look up the results of individual schools. According to Chalkbeat, Indianapolis Public Schools had just three schools get As—4.4 percent of the district’s 68 total schools.
Only eight IPS schools saw their state grades go up, and 30 schools had lower grades from the state than in 2015. Two district schools, Cold Spring and School 56, saw their grades drop from As to Fs. Both had sharp declines in the ISTEP passing rates after the state switched to a harder test in 2015.
The ratings not only affect the perception of a school’s quality, but they also can influence bonuses teachers receive in their annual evaluations. It’s unknown when teachers will receive their performance pay this year.
Data shows a greater percentage of charter schools received an F grade than traditional public schools. Less than 5 percent of Indiana’s traditional public schools are failing, but nearly a quarter of charter schools are in the latest ratings.
