Brown County Schools has earned a B on its report card for the second year in a row, while some schools saw grade changes.

Overall, the district received three As, two Bs and one C from the Indiana Department of Education.

For students in Grades 3 through 8, accountability grades are based on how many students passed the ISTEP+ assessment last spring and how those students have progressed academically on that test.

For 10th grade, the same factors are considered, plus the high school’s graduation rate and the school’s college and career readiness indicator score. That score comes from the number of students who have passed an AP exam and the number of dual college credits and industry certifications that are obtained in the school.

Brown County Junior High School had the biggest grade boost, receiving an A this year after getting a C last year.

“Obviously we’re happy. We want to be an A; everybody does. We’re pleased with that. It’s a new year now, so we kind of celebrate that a little bit, then set it aside and work on this year,” Principal Brian Garman said.

In 2016, 52.7 percent of seventh-graders and 46.4 percent of eighth-graders passed the math portion of ISTEP.

In 2017, scores were markedly better, with 62.7 percent of seventh-graders and 73.7 percent of eighth-grade students passing math.

Garman said changes were made in the school to intentionally integrate engineering/technology and science classes.

“It’s a natural fit, and you can’t really separate math from those subject areas. We just became a little bit more intentional about targeting certain math skills and aligning those with those subject areas,” he said.

Math teachers also did more benchmark testing so they had more frequent updates on where the students were with their skills.

“That allowed us to adjust instruction more often than we have done in the past,” Garman said.

While the school is excited to earn an A, Garman noted that the groups of students tested each year changes, which may cause school grade changes next year.

“Some years, that grade may not be an A, so I think you try not to be too high or too low as far as your morale in your building, because … you work just as hard and did just the same things,” he said.

“Those years, you don’t want to beat yourself up too much, either.”

Sprunica Elementary School dropped from an A last year to a C this year.

Even so, Principal Abbie Oliver said she is proud of her students because of how far they have come.

“Of course it’s not an A and that’s what everyone wants; however, a C means we’re hanging right in there and these groups of kids have come a really long way,” she said.

Oliver said the group of third- and fourth-graders last year had dealt with academic and behavioral challenges over the years, but both groups have improved “vastly.”

She credits the progress she is seeing to a “huge team effort” in the elementary school, from the students maturing, to parents buying in and assisting. But Oliver said that “nothing replaces excellent teaching.”

In recent years, Sprunica has been named a Blue Ribbon and a Four Star elementary school by the state.

Oliver said the Brown County Literacy Coalition’s tutoring program also has had a hand in the progress. Volunteer tutors come to the school every week to help kids with reading in third and fourth grade.

“We will continue on the path we’re on. We have really tracked this group of students and focused on what each group of kids needs. I am excited to continue to watch them grow,” she said.

The third-grade class that took the ISTEP+ assessment last year is large group of now fourth-grade students, split into three classes at Sprunica.

“It has been a little bit challenging over the years, but I am proud of where they have come from,” Oliver said of the group.

Celebrating growth

Superintendent Laura Hammack said she is proud of all of the letter grades that have been issued and she has no concerns.

“The metrics are so challenging to decipher. And when we are affirmed that growth and achievement is happening in all of our schools — be it an A school, be it a C school — then we just continue to do the work that we’re doing, because we’re confident that’s the work that needs to happen,” she said.

“For me, it’s difficult to be super celebratory or conversely super disappointed in these letter grade issuances for the fact that calculations in many respects are so difficult to understand that it’s really hard for a school to go after.”

The rules will change next year under the Every Student Succeeds Act. The current metrics will remain, but next year, elementary and middle schools also will be held accountable for chronic absences.

“We are now responsible in our accountability score for something that’s difficult for a school to control,” Hammack said.

All of the schools also will be held accountable for the proficiency and growth data of English language learners.

Hammack said the schools are focused on achievement and ensuring students have the skills to master the Indiana academic standards. This means schools have a reason to celebrate when they receive an A, like the junior high.

“They are doing such incredible work. It was so neat to see the letter grade they received. That was a celebration that all of this hard work paid off. … That’s what we’re trying to embrace,” she said.

With the recent changes to the ISTEP assessment, along with the fact that ILEARN will replace ISTEP after this school year, Hammack said it’s difficult to align curriculum to the state test.

“It’s work we certainly know how to do, but (the question is) whether or not it’s worth the investment of the time and resources now to align to a test that we know is done at the end of this year,” she said.

Teachers will instead focus on making sure students master the Indiana academic standards. Indiana opted out of the federal Common Core academic standards in 2014 and created its own set of academic standards.

“Our rationale is that if we can ensure these standards are being mastered by our boys and girls, we’ve done our job,” Hammack said.

She said the school district looks more closely at the measures that celebrate growth, including ISTEP scores and national assessments, like STEEP, and more frequently administered local assessments done by teachers.

“When we see that students are actually growing from year to year, those are the areas where we genuinely want to celebrate,” she said. “What is most important to us is that they’re growing, no matter what.”