ILEARN scores still stagnant, five years post-pandemic
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Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Learning in Indiana's elementary and middle schools continues to stagnate, particularly in reading.
Why it matters: Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic's onset, scores on statewide tests designed to measure students against grade-level proficiency standards in English and math have yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, according to ILEARN results released this week by the Indiana Department of Education.
- Learning gaps between the highest- and lowest-performing schools persist, meaning that where a child lives can still have an outsize impact on their education.
Between the lines: Scores significantly dropped from 2019 to 2021 — the first year in the pandemic that the test was given — and have stagnated since then.
- The state has invested heavily in new reading education strategies, trainings and materials, but scores remain flat.
By the numbers: Statewide, just 31% of students passed both the English and math portions, meaning they're on track to graduate high school ready for college or a career.
- Overall, math scores were the bright spot, increasing 1.4 points to 42.1%, while English scores actually dipped by 0.4 points to 40.6%
Reality check: Proficiency rates vary widely based on demographic factors — only 13% of Black and 18% of Hispanic students passed both portions, compared to 38% of white students.
- Students from low-income families were also proficient at lower rates (19%) than their peers who don't qualify for meal assistance (42%).
The big picture: Performance on standardized testing is closely tied to socioeconomic and other demographic factors.
- Once again, districts surrounding Marion County — Brownsburg, Carmel Clay and Zionsville — were among the top-performing in the state.
Zoom in: In Marion County, Speedway Schools had the highest scores of traditional districts, with nearly half of students passing both portions and 55% proficiency in English and 61% in math.
- Franklin, Washington and Perry townships were the only other districts to have more than 25% of students pass both exams.
- Indianapolis Public Schools, the largest district, posted nearly the same results as last year but in English but small a gain in math.
- Warren Township had the lowest scores but made one of the biggest gains in English — increasing its proficiency rate more than 2 points over the last year. It also gained more than 4 points in math.
What's next: This upcoming school year will be the first that new ILEARN checkpoint exams are administered throughout the year statewide, with a shorter end-of-year assessment.
- More than half of schools piloted the checkpoints, designed to give students and teachers more real-time feedback, last school year.
- Early feedback found the new model reduced testing time and improved the student experience.