Area schools are meeting or approaching expectations, according to federal ratings announced Friday.
Indiana schools are being evaluated under two accountability systems for a second straight year, due to differences between federal and state measurements.
Last year, the dual methods resulted in schools being issued two grades that weren’t always identical.
For this year, the state received approval to release federal accountability ratings, instead of grades, to track school progress.
The Indiana Department of Education says the change will allow schools to more accurately measure achievement, “as opposed to it simply becoming a punitive mark.”
All Crawfordsville schools were “approaching expectations,” according to the ratings.
North Montgomery High School and Southmont Jr. High received the same marks, while the rest of the districts’ schools were meeting expectations.
It was a split decision at Southeast Fountain, with the elementary school meeting expectations and the junior/senior high school approaching.
The state also released graduation rates for 2018-19.
Crawfordsville’s rate dropped more than eight points from the previous year to 84.95%. North Montgomery slipped a point to 95.48%.
South Montgomery rose three points to 97.48%. Southeast Fountain gained more than two points at 89.02%.
The state’s overall rate dipped to 87.29% in 2018-19, compared to 88.1% the previous year.
Due to the differences in accountability standards, the state also released the federal graduation rates, which were identical for the four area school districts.
