Southern Indiana schools see improvement in 2022 ILEARN scores

Brooke McAfee, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·6 min read

Jul. 19—SOUTHERN INDIANA — Recent ILEARN testing results show improvements in 2022 compared to last year for many local schools, but officials in Southern Indiana say there is still plenty of work ahead.

The Indiana Department of Education released data last week showing the results of the 2022 ILEARN assessment.

Across the state, math proficiency levels rose from 36.9% in 2021 to 39.4% in 2022. English proficiency levels increased from 40.5% in 2021 to 41.2% in 2022.

The ILEARN test began in 2019 for students in third to eighth grade, replacing the ISTEP standardized test. Testing did not take place in 2020 due to COVID-19 shutdowns.

NEW ALBANY-FLOYD

In New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp., 48.4% of students who took the ILEARN test were proficient in English, and 50.2% were proficient in math, according to the district average. Proficiency in both English and math equaled 38.9%.

Compared to neighboring school districts in Southern Indiana, NAFCS ranks at the top in math proficiency and the second in English behind South Harrison Community School Corp. in terms of 2022 ILEARN scores, according to Sally Jensen, NAFCS director of assessment and student information.

The district "stacks up very well with all of our local peers," and the district average is ahead of the state average in all categories, she said.

Jensen said NAFCS saw the greatest improvement in math proficiency this year, which had decreased significantly in 2021. For math, proficiency increased across all grade levels. In English, proficiency levels increased or stayed similar across most grade levels except for eighth grade, which saw a small decrease of 1.7%.

Jensen said she is thankful that NAFCS was in-person for the entire 2021-22 school year.

"We had a lot of kids out on quarantine at the beginning of last year for a long time, and we did a lot of pivots last year, but the good thing is that the majority of students were in front of teachers last year," she said. "I think that makes such a big difference."

She also emphasized the role of educational programming implemented using federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, including additional tutoring, expanded summer school and the "begindergarten" program.

Jensen said the district must "stay on the path in order to close any type of learning loss," and it is important to continue the "forward trajectory" to offer enhanced support for students.

"To get back to where we were pre-pandemic, whenever we have learning loss, we have to gain more in a school year than we typically would have gained — we have to make it up," she said. "We have to have more time and more support to close that gap."

GREATER CLARK

In Greater Clark County Schools, 37.8% of students who took the ILEARN test were proficient in English, 29.6% were proficient in math and 22.8% were proficient in both math and English.

Across the district, proficiency levels increased 2.67% in math and 2.17% in language.

Karen Wesley, director of elementary education for Greater Clark, said the district is "optimistic" about the results, saying the district improved in almost every area since 2021.

At the elementary level, New Washington Elementary saw the most growth with an 11% increase in English proficiency and a 9% increase in math proficiency compared to 2021.

At the middle school level, River Valley Middle School saw the biggest improvement in English proficiency at 6% growth, and New Washington Middle School saw 4% growth in math proficiency compared to 2021.

She noted that Greater Clark faced a challenging year for a good portion of the school year due to the pandemic, saying the district didn't have "consistent attendance for the vast majority of kids until late February or early March."

Wesley is hoping for a stable school year, saying Greater Clark has the chance to see "double digit gains, not just percentage points."

"To know we were able to have growth in almost every area despite still having massive interruptions throughout the year during the pandemic — it actually gives me hope," she said.

Wesley said moving forward, Greater Clark will look in-depth at ILEARN data from various subgroups to determine intervention strategies, and the district is continuing to use ESSER funding to provide extra instructional coaching and interventions for students.

SILVER CREEK

The 2022 district average for Silver Creek School Corp. was 46.65% for English proficiency, 43.7% for math proficiency and 33.3% proficiency in both subjects.

Lisa Hawkins, Silver Creek assistant superintendent, said she is happy that Silver Creek is above the state average in English and math proficiency. Across the district, English language proficiency levels rose by about 1% and math proficiency rose by about 13% compared to 2021.

Hawkins said the district is proud of the work completed by teachers, student and support staff, and she emphasized the role of the Silver Creek Dragons Foundation in providing academic intervention and tutoring for students throughout the past school year. ESSER funding also helped provide additional support for students.

The district is focusing on intensive professional development for teachers, including an upcoming session featuring an expert in math education, she said.

"We're obviously not where we want to be, and there are definitely areas we need to focus on, but we definitely feel like there is progress being made in filling the gaps and being able to advance," Hawkins said.

BORDEN-HENRYVILLE

The 2022 district average for Borden-Henryville School Corp. was 42.3% for English proficiency, 36.7% for math proficiency and 27.3% proficiency in both subjects.

In comparison, the 2021 district average was English proficiency 43.3% English proficiency, 34.8% math proficiency and 28.6% proficiency in both subjects.

The Borden campus saw higher numbers than the Henryville campus in 2022. Borden Elementary had English proficiency of 54%, math proficiency of 56.4% and 44.8% proficiency in both subjects, while Henryville Elementary had English proficiency of 32%, math proficiency of 40.1% and 25.6% proficiency in both subjects.

Borden High School had English proficiency of 59.7%, math proficiency of 30.1% and 28.3% proficiency in both subjects, while Henryville Jr./Sr. High School had English proficiency of 41.4%, math proficiency of 41.4% and 13.2% proficiency in both subjects.

Borden-Henryville Superintendent Johnny Budd said he feels the district is "on the right track as far as our growth and the initiatives we have for our district."

"I think we will continue to see the results of that work over the next couple of years," he said. "We've had difficulty the last year with having licensed math teachers at every level, and this year we have accomplished that, so we feel much better heading into this year."

Lisa Gardner, director of curriculum and instruction at Borden-Henryville, said the district has dedicated many ESSER dollars to professional development in math, and the district has adopted a new math curriculum for the upcoming school year. There will also be professional development for English.

CLARKSVILLE

In Clarksville Community Schools, the 2022 district average was 25% for English proficiency, 16.2% in math proficiency and 11.4% proficiency in both subjects.

This is a decrease from the previous year. In 2021, the district average was 26% for English proficiency, 18.1% for math proficiency and 12.7% proficiency in both subjects.