Local results mixed from spring 2017 ISTEP exam

More Indiana schools have received top state ratings under results from last spring’s ISTEP standardized exams.

Ratings released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education show 29.5 percent of the state’s schools received an A grade for 2016-17, up about 6 percentage points from the previous school year.

The number of schools with B ratings fell about the same amount, while there was little change among lower ratings. About 6 percent of schools were given F grades.

This year’s ratings are much more stable than a year ago, when the number of schools receiving A grades fell by half after an overhaul of the ISTEP exam.

State schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick says another major shake-up will come with the state’s switch to a new student test replacing ISTEP in 2019.

Locally, passing results were mixed. Here’s how many students passed both the math and science portions in Grades 3-8 (percentages rounded up or down to closest tenth):

  • South Bend Community School Corporation: 26%
  • Penn-Harris Madison School Corporation: 71%
  • School City of Mishawaka: 40%
  • Elkhart Community Schools: 36%
  • Concord Community Schools: 48%
  • Goshen Community Schools: 42%
  • Warsaw Community Schools: 56%
  • Tippecanoe Valley Community Schools: 54%

And here’s the local results for 10th grade students:

  • South Bend: 26%
  • PHM: 60%
  • Mishawaka: 33%
  • Elkhart: 36%
  • Concord: 16%
  • Goshen: 33%
  • Warsaw: 33%
  • Tippecanoe Valley: 30%

You can find all of the ISTEP spring 2017 data on area schools at this link.

Tom Franklin contributed to this story.