IPS among four districts receiving F grades from state

Indianapolis Public Schools was one of four school districts statewide that earned an F grade last year, according to data released Wednesday by the State Board of Education and the Indiana Department of Education.

The A-F grades are calculated based the percentage of students passing the state standardized tests, the growth in scores students showed versus their peers statewide, and various other factors. State leaders are now in the midst of rewriting the grading system.

School-level grades for the 2012-13 school year were released by the state in December.

IPS received 0.96 points, on a 4-point scale, based on its students’ performance in the 2012-13 school year—just shy of the full point needed to earn a D grade. IPS’s score was greatly improved from the previous year, when it earned just 0.24 points on the 4-point scale.

Districts must score 2 points to earn a C, 3 points to earn a B and 3.5 points to earn an A.

Out of 289 districts statewide, 94 districts, or 33 percent, earned an A; 82 districts, or 28 percent, earned a B; 91 districts, or 31 percent, earned a C; 18 districts, or 6 percent, earned a D; and four districts, or 1 percent, earned Fs.

Besides IPS, the other districts earnings Fs were Medora Community School Corp. in southern Indiana, Gary Community Schools Corp., and the School City of East Chicago.

Those same four districts also earned Fs during the previous school year. Two districts improved from an F the previous year to a D in the most recent school year: Kokomo School Corp. and the School City of Hammond.