Indiana Earns National Award for Innovation in Education

Monday, July 21, 2025 at 11:42 AM

By Travis Thayer @eagle993

Recognition of Indiana's work includes historic literacy investments and Indiana GPS dashboard.

Photo provided.

INDIANAPOLIS - The State of Indiana was recently honored with the 2025 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation, a national award recognizing Indiana’s historic investments and advancements in literacy, as well as the development of an innovative, longitudinal data system known as the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) dashboard.

The Frank Newman Award for State Innovation is presented by Education Commission of the States (ECS), a national nonprofit that connects state policymakers and supports education policymaking with members in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

“Indiana is a humble state…we work together to identify challenges, then put our heads down and get to work,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “We often don’t take a moment to acknowledge the progress, we just keep on pushing to improve. Accepting this award is a tribute to the educators, parents and families, community partners, and many others, who relentlessly pursue better outcomes for Indiana students. From small, local communities to the Statehouse, our focus is and must remain on moving the needle for Indiana students. In many respects, we’re just getting started, and we are excited for the journey ahead. By listening, learning, and working together, we will keep improving.”

In 2022, the State of Indiana partnered with Lilly Endowment, Inc. to make a historic investment in literacy ($170 million), focused on science of reading. This investment allowed the Indiana Department of Education to deploy a number of comprehensive, strategic solutions aimed at helping more students learn to read. Literacy rates have now increased for three consecutive years, including the largest-ever single-year increase in 2024.

Earlier this year, Indiana students also jumped to sixth in the nation in reading according to results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) rankings . This is the highest Indiana has ever ranked in fourth grade reading.