Eight Jay schools get A grades

Revised A-F school accountability grades approved this week by the State Board of Education aren’t significantly different for Jay Schools.
“Revised is an interesting word,” superintendent Tim Long said Wednesday. “They just gave us the better of the two grades between two years.”
Fifty-five percent of Indiana schools received a grade of A, 19 percent received a B, 14 percent got a C, 6 percent received a D and 2.6 percent received an F.
The A-F grades have been a matter of dispute in the wake of last year’s near-collapse of the ISTEP standardized testing system.
“There was a shift in the standards,” said Long, noting that the change resulted in lower ISTEP scores throughout the state.
The Indiana General Assembly has already taken action to assure that the lower scores will not be used in the evaluation of teacher effectiveness this year.
Grades approved by the state this week shape up this way for Jay Schools:
•Bloomfield Elementary School, A.
•East Elementary School, A.
•Redkey Elementary School, B.
•Pennville Elementary School, D.
•General Shanks Elementary School, A.
•Judge Haynes Elementary School, A.
•Westlawn Elementary School, A.
•East Jay Middle School, A.
•West Jay Middle School, A.
•Jay County High School, A.
Long noted that the grades and ISTEP performance were the fourth-highest among school districts in east central Indiana.
“Our approach is always going to be to continue to improve,” said Long.
Jay County Christian Academy received a grade of C under the “hold harmless” ratings released this week.
South Adams got grades of A across the board for its elementary, middle and high schools.