(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Results from Indiana’s new “A” to “F” grading system are in, showing most Indiana schools can be proud of their report card.

The newest Indiana Department of Education letter grades for schools released Wednesday show 61-percent of the state’s public schools have earned an “A” or “B” for their performance. More than 20-percent of schools earned “C’s,” while nearly 19-percent earned a “D” or an “F.”

The grading system – which IDOE leaders have touted as easier to understand than the old ratings of Exemplary, Commendable, Academic Progress, Academic Watch and Academic Probation -  is based largely on student standardized test scores, graduation rates and college and career readiness. For elementary and middle schools, growth was a heavily weighted factor in the grades.

“These fair and comprehensive measures of school performance demonstrate that school leaders and teachers are focusing on the skills our students need to succeed in their academic and professional careers,” said Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett. “The results of our new approach to grading schools are already making a measurable difference in student performance, and Indiana’s educators should be celebrated for their hard work and success.”

In the southeast Indiana Eagle 99.3 listening area, 12 public schools earned a report card to be extremely proud of. Receiving “A’s” were East Central High, Sunman-Dearborn Middle, Sunman-Dearborn Intermediate, Dillsboro Elementary, Manchester Elementary, South Ripley Junior High, South Ripley Elementary, and Brookville Elementary.

All four schools in the Batesville Community School Corporation received an “A,” much to the pleasure of Superintendent Dr. John Roberts.

“We are fortunate that the value of a challenging education is understood by our students, staff members, and community as a whole.  We expect educational excellence and are pleased that the hard work of so many has paid off.  We are proud that our student achievement scores have actually increased as our at-risk populations have also increased,” Roberts said, adding the grades show the district’s recently-adopted motto “believe in better” is evidence of that belief.

Roberts said there will be celebrations with students and teachers in each building to recognize their “A” grades.

An “A” grade was common for area parochial schools including Oldenburg Academy, St. Lawrence in Lawrenceburg, St. Mary in Aurora, St. Michael in Brookville, and St. Louis in Batesville.

Three of Sunman-Dearborn’s six schools earned an “A”, while two others were graded “B.” Superintendent Dr. Jeff Hendrix voiced frustration that the district’s elementary schools were not rated “A” by the IDOE.

“Our ISTEP+ scores were the highest in several years for all of our schools individually and as a corporation.  Our elementary students scored in the high 80’s and low 90’s this past school year on the ISTEP+ ELA and Math.  I believe that those scores should have a bigger impact on the ratings than whether students had significant growth in the subcategories,” Hendrix said.

At Rising Sun-Ohio County Schools, the elementary-middle school earned a “B” while the high school was rated “C.” Superintendent Steve Patz said the district continues to work to prepare students for life after high school.

“Our goal is to have 90-percent of our students passing both (language arts and math) tests. As such with help from the City, we hired a K-12 Reading Specialist this year,” Patz said.

Patz added that the high school scored a “B” in language arts, a “B+” in graduation rate missing an “A” by .2-percent, an “A” in career readiness and a “C-” in math.

“We believe that by increasing the literacy of our students, test scores will take care of themselves,” said Patz.

Each of South Ripley Community Schools' buildings received an "A" or "B," which delighted first-year superintendent Rob Moorhead as he credited the relationships between students, parents, and teachers.

"We believe these ratings are not only a reflection of the outstanding achievement of our students, but also an indicator of the dedication of our teachers, support staff and administrators in the school. Joining this district as a new superintendent, I am extremely pleased with the teamwork I see at the building level each day that has helped to produce these outstanding results." 

Only one local school – Laurel Elementary in Franklin County – was graded “F.” Local schools graded “D” were the Primary school and Central Elementary in Lawrenceburg, South Dearborn Middle School, and Switzerland County High and Elementary School.

Lawrenceburg Superintendent Karl Galey said he isn't satisfied with the corporation's grades. 

"We are monitoring individual student data more closely this year within all buildings to make instructional changes for our students throughout the school year.  Additional time is being provided to students within and after the school day to provide support and address deficiencies," he said.

Letter grades for all Indiana schools and more information on how the grades are determined can be found on the Indiana Department of Education website, http://www.doe.in.gov/improvement/accountability/f-accountability.

Report cards for local schools are shown below. Data comes from the Indiana Department of Education. 

BATESVILLE SCHOOLS

FRANKLIN COUNTY SCHOOLS

JAC-CEN-DEL SCHOOLS

LAWRENCEBURG SCHOOLS

MILAN SCHOOLS

RISING SUN-OHIO COUNTY SCHOOLS

SOUTH DEARBORN SCHOOLS

SOUTH RIPLEY SCHOOLS

SUNMAN-DEARBORN SCHOOLS

SWITZERLAND COUNTY SCHOOLS

LOCAL PRIVATE SCHOOLS