Hamilton Southeastern Schools saw gains year-over-year in the percentage of students who passed the English and math portions of the state’s standardized test known as ILEARN.
Data from the Indiana Dept. of Education showed that 49.3 percent of the district’s third- through eighth-grade students were found to be proficient in English and math this year. That reflects a nearly 6 percentage point increase compared to 2021 results when 43.5 percent of students in those grade levels passed the state assessment.
Those figures are also higher than results seen statewide, according to the IDOE. ILEARN results on a statewide level indicate that 41.2 percent of students were deemed proficient in English/language arts, while 39.4 percent were considered to be proficient in math.
This year’s results also indicate improvements in the number of students across the state showing proficiency compared to 2021 when 40.5 percent of students were proficient in English/language arts and 36.9 percent of students were proficient in math. On a statewide level, the IDOE said that most grade levels and student populations increased their proficiency rates in English/language arts and math by 1 to 4 percentage points compared to 2021.
ILEARN scores for 2021 and 2022 at Hamilton Southeastern Schools, however, lag behind overall passage rates seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. The district had 56.1 percentage of its third- to eighth-grade students pass English and math when the ILEARN test was administered in 2019, according to the IDOE.
The test was not administered in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools Supt. Yvonne Stokes said she’s pleased with the improvement in ILEARN scores year-over-year but noted there is room for improvement.
“We’re not where we want to be, but there’s room to grow,” Stokes said.
Emily Pace Abbots, a spokeswoman for the district, said officials plan to compare its scores to other districts of its size moving forward as it assesses the data.
