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:

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.