JC exceeds Indiana averages

Scores across the state were not encouraging.

But Jay County compared favorably to Indiana averages.

Jay School Corporation’s percentage of students who showed proficiency on ILEARN tests was higher than the state average in almost every category.

“Very pleased,” said Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley in reference to the results. “This was an extremely difficult test. It’s the first year it’s been done, so no one really knew what to expect.”

ILEARN, which was new for the 2018-19 school year, evaluates third through eighth graders in English/language arts and math. Fourth and sixth graders also take a science test, and fifth graders take a social studies test.

The percentage of Jay School Corporation students to reach the proficiency level was above the state average on 12 of those 15 tests.

Jay County outpaced the state average across the board in math. In total, 56.2 percent of local students were deemed proficient as compared to 47.8 percent statewide.

Local students outpaced the state proficiency average in third, fourth, fifth and eighth grades on the English/language arts test. Overall, Jay Schools had a 50.8 proficiency rate compared to 47.9 across Indiana.

The corporation also surpassed the state proficiency numbers on both the science (50.5-47.4) and social studies (42.7-46) tests.

“That tells me our teachers did a great job,” said Gulley. “Our principals did a great job leading that. … And kids preparing for and taking the test.”

Broken down by grade level, Jay County’s third graders had the best results on the math test with 63.8 percent showing proficiency.

General Shanks, paced by 71.6 percent of its third graders reaching proficiency, led the corporation in math at 60.4 percent while West Jay Middle School was lowest at 39.7 percent.

For English/language arts, eighth graders topped the list with 59.6 percent showing proficiency. Again General Shanks was the top school at 53.1 percent proficiency while Redkey’s third graders had the top score for proficiency in an individual grade at 62.5 percent. Bloomfield was lowest at 45.2 percent.

The low proficiency levels statewide have led to scrutiny of the test, with Gov. Eric Holcomb and some Indiana legislative leaders calling for a delay in using the test scores as part of the annual A-F school grades. State superintendent of public instruction Jennifer McCormick said if the test results were used, more than half of the state’s schools would receive a D or F.

“Statewide right now there’s real questions about how you can have a test that more than half the kids in the state can’t pass,” said Gulley. “If I’m a teacher, and I was, and I give a test that more than half the kids don’t pass, I have to ask questions. …

“It’s really called into question the whole testing system in Indiana. How much money are we spending on this to get this kind of outcome?”

ILEARN was used for the first time in the spring as the replacement for the previous ISTEP test. It was intended to be easier to administer and have a faster turn-around time. It is also computer adaptive, meaning the test adjust to each individual student based on their previous answers.

Regardless of test scores, Gulley said the corporation’s goal is to continue to do what is best for students’ long-term development.

That includes putting a special focus on English/language arts and placing a focus on curriculum. He added that he feels Jay Schools’ emphasis on preschool is important.

Gulley noted that the corporation makes use of Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) tests to gauge student progress. Those tests are significantly shorter and offer immediate feedback.

“The teacher can look at the results and monitor progress and adjust,” said Gulley. “From an educational perspective, there’s probably more value in shorter assessments that we get real information back quickly.

“NWEA really focuses on growth over time, which I think is a little more fair than a high-stakes, one-time-a-year test.”