LSC approves supplemental English course at Tecumseh to help address low ILEARN scores

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Lafayette School Corporation approved a creative dramatics proposal for Tecumseh Junior High School, which will create an additional English course for students struggling with the subject.

This proposal came to the board’s attention after administrators at Tecumseh Junior High School noticed the low number of students who passed their ILEARN with proficiency in English.

ILEARN is Indiana’s Learning Evaluation and Assessment Readiness Network, which assesses the progress of Indiana students in grades three through eight and high school biology.

“Our current test scores in English/language arts are not meeting the state averages. Upon this proposal, we currently have a pass rate of 23.6% and 30.7% in seventh and eighth grade respectively,” the proposal reads.

According to data released by the Indiana Department of Education earlier this year, around 40.7% of students in the state scored proficient in English.

Due to this discrepancy, administrators are hoping that providing an additional supplemental English course once a semester, it will help students enhance their understanding of the subject.

“It is our belief that having more opportunities for students to access material that supports the English/language arts curriculum will result in higher test scores,” the proposal reads.

“This class would focus primarily on smaller dramatic pieces and utilize readers theaters to address the standards. There would still be formative assessments to inform the instructor on where re-teaching is necessary.”

Administrators are hoping that by offering this course in the 2024-2025 school, it will help up to 50 students become proficient in English and in turn raise the average score of the school’s ILEARN test scores.

In hopes of helping schools within the LSC raise their students' average scores on the ILEARN test, the school district started conducting routine assessment tests on their student population.

“We want to assess the students better than we’re currently doing. We want to assess students periodically throughout the year before they take the ILEARN test or one big test at the end,” Les Huddle, superintendent of the Lafayette School Corp. said.

“If we do it in a formative way or if we do it in progress, we can check where there are and regroup and offer them structure.”

By conducting routine assessments, Huddle also explained how it would help teachers catch issues their students are dealing with earlier than normal.

“One thing that happens when you get the 'big test,' which is your ILEARN, is we don’t take it until maybe April. We don’t get the score back until summer. By then kids have gone on, maybe not just to the next grade, but new teachers and new buildings,” he said.

“The formative assessments we will be doing a little bit better with those, and we’re going to assess them in September to see where they are today and follow their progress throughout the year.”

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: LSC approves course at Tecumseh to help address low ILEARN scores