Special to The Message
On July 13, the Indiana Department of Education publicly released statewide and local spring 2022 ILEARN results for Hoosier students after presenting the scores to the State Board of Education.
Diocese of Evansville Interim Superintendent of Schools Michelle Priar said the results of the 2021-2022 ILEARN summative assessment give diocesan schools something to celebrate.
“Overall, our students performed outstandingly,” Priar said. “Our focus has always been on educating the whole child spiritually, academically, physically, socially and morally. Because of this, we want to be careful to understand that a Catholic education is reflective of much more than a test score. However, analyzing data is important, and in the case of ILEARN, the data shows us that we are meeting the mark academically. We also recognize that these scores are reflective of student academic performance at one given point in the school year, and we know that many factors come into play on how well students perform on this one test.”
In 2019, Hoosier students first took the ILEARN assessment, or the Indiana Learning Evaluation and Readiness Network assessment, which replaced the state’s ISTEP assessment. ILEARN evaluates English/language arts and math in grades 3-8, science in grades 4 and 6, social studies in grade 5, as well as U.S. Government and biology for high school students.
Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner said in a news release that this year’s results show the “positive collective impact we can have when educators, communities and families come together to support our students’ learning. Foundational learning in English/language arts and math is stabilizing or recovering for most of our students, and Indiana’s educators and students should be proud of this progress.”
Spring 2022 ILEARN results for students in grades 3-8
- Diocese of Evansville collectively had the third highest English/language arts (ELA) score in the state, and the highest score of all non-public schools across the state. (71 percent with the state average being 41.2 percent)
- Diocese of Evansville collectively had the seventh highest math score in the state, and the highest of all non-public schools. (67.9 percent with the state average being 39.4 percent)
- Diocese of Evansville collectively had the fourth highest score in the state of passing both ELA and math with 58.7 percent, and the highest of all non-public schools. The state average for passing both sections was 30.2 percent.
- Diocese of Evansville collectively had the highest science score in the state at 72 percent proficient with the state average being 38.6 percent.
- Diocese of Evansville collectively had the fourth highest social studies score in the state, and the first among all non-public schools. (74.5 percent with the state average being 38.4 percent)
- Sts. Peter and Paul School in Haubstadt ranked first in the state in combined ELA and math scores with 85.2 percent, while St. Wendel School in St. Wendel ranked second in the state for their combined ELA/math score of 83.2 percent.
- Sts. Peter and Paul School had the highest science score in the state with 95.8 percent. Five other diocesan schools ranked in the top 15 in the state: St. Wendel School, Holy Cross School in Fort Branch, St. Benedict Cathedral School in Evansville, St. Philip School in Posey County and Good Shepherd School in Evansville.
- Six diocesan schools ranked in the top 15 in the state for their social studies scores: St. John the Baptist School in Newburgh, St. Bernard School in Rockport, and Evansville schools Good Shepherd, Westside Catholic, Resurrection and Holy Rosary.
“We’re blessed to have such strong partnerships with families, as well as dedicated and innovative teachers and administrators who are striving to give students as many opportunities to be successful as possible,” Priar said. “I’m so proud of the work our teachers and administrators do each and every day in an educational environment that is constantly evolving.”
School principals share their thoughts on 2022 ILEARN
Sts. Peter and Paul Principal Megan Howington said, “We are extremely proud of our students for how well they performed on the ILEARN assessment. These achievements would not be possible without the collaborative effort and commitment from our students, faculty and families. We find ourselves continually blessed with generous families, a dedicated faculty, and students eager to grow both spiritually and academically each year.”
St. Wendel Principal Hallie Scheu said, “I am so proud of the teachers and students of Saint Wendel. Our results show the unwavering dedication of our teachers and staff, tireless effort and drive of our students, and the intense partnership and collaboration with our parents to put learning in the forefront.”
St. John the Baptist Principal Elizabeth Flatt said, “We are so proud of our students' hard work on these assessments and the dedication of our teachers throughout the school year to make learning engaging to assist students in reaching their God-given potential. Although we know our students are so much more than a test score, this is truly a chance to celebrate success within our school community.”