CHAPTER 8. ASSESSING IMPROVEMENT

IC 20-31-8
    Chapter 8. Assessing Improvement

IC 20-31-8-1
ISTEP scores and other assessments
    Sec. 1. (a) The performance of a school's students on the ISTEPprogram test and other assessments recommended by the educationroundtable and approved by the state board are the primary andmajority means of assessing a school's improvement.
    (b) The education roundtable shall examine and makerecommendations to the state board concerning:
        (1) performance indicators to be used as a secondary means ofdetermining school progress;
        (2) expected progress levels, continuous improvementmeasures, distributional performance levels, and absoluteperformance levels for schools; and
        (3) an orderly transition from the performance basedaccreditation system to the assessment system set forth in thisarticle.
    (c) The education roundtable shall consider methods of measuringimprovement and progress used in other states in developingrecommendations under this section.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.15.

IC 20-31-8-2
Secondary means of assessing improvements
    Sec. 2. (a) In addition to scores on the ISTEP program test andother assessments, the department shall use the performanceindicators developed under section 1 of this chapter and thebenchmarks and indicators of performance in each schoolcorporation's annual performance report as a secondary means ofassessing the improvement of each school and school corporation.
    (b) The department shall assess improvement in the followingmanner:
        (1) Compare each school and each school corporation with itsown prior performance and not to the performance of otherschools or school corporations.
        (2) Compare the results in the annual report under IC 20-20-8with the benchmarks and indicators of performance establishedin the plan for the same school.
        (3) Compare the results for a school by comparing eachstudent's results for each grade with the student's prior yearresults, with an adjustment for student mobility rate. Theeducation roundtable shall make recommendations concerningthe incorporation of a statistical adjustment for student mobilityrates into the results.
        (4) Compare the results for a school with the state average andthe ninety-fifth percentile level for all assessments andperformance indicators.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.15.
IC 20-31-8-3
Categories or designations of school improvement established
    Sec. 3. The state board shall establish a number of categories ordesignations of school improvement based on the improvement thata school makes in performance of the measures determined by theboard with the advice of the education roundtable. The categories ordesignations must reflect various levels of improvement.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.15.

IC 20-31-8-4
Placement of school in category or designation of schoolimprovement
    Sec. 4. The state board shall place each school in a category ordesignation of school improvement based on the department'sfindings from the assessment of the improvement of each schoolunder section 2 of this chapter. The state board must place thoseschools that do not show improvement and in which less than ninetypercent (90%) of the students meet academic standards in the lowestcategory or designation.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.15.