Indiana weighs new academic accountability rules; test results less important
Indiana education officials are laying the groundwork for a new A-F accountability system they said is aligned with what Hoosiers agree are the characteristics important to lifelong success.
The State Board of Education welcomed the first draft Wednesday on the K-12 measure that will go into effect next year to better prepare students for the future, they said.
It dovetails with the state's newly revised diploma that becomes effective with the Class of 2029. It focuses on three areas – students preparing for college, the military or direct employment after high school.
'To best prepare students for the future – whether their next steps include college, a career or military service – we know that both knowledge and real-world skills are essential to their success,' said Gov. Mike Braun in a release.
The new characteristics that indicators will measure are academic mastery, career and postsecondary readiness, credentials, experiences and work ethic.
The process, built upon multiple rounds of public comment and feedback, is likely to consume most of the year.
Its main change, however, is testing assessment scores will no longer be the sole letter grade criteria for school evaluations.
A state law, authored by House Education Chairman Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, calls for two drafts, each with a 30-day public comment period. The first public comment period opens later this summer, but officials said the public can provide immediate feedback via Jotform, an online feedback/survey tool.
The state also requires the State Board of Education to adopt a final draft of the A-F grading scale by Dec. 31.
Democrats argued its results could still be punitive on schools with lower poverty rates.
Schools have not received letter grades since 2018 when the DOE moved from the ISTEP exam to a new accountability test called ILEARN. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted testing, and no grades were assigned.
Presently, the state's assessment system rates students in grades 3-8 based on academic performance and growth on ILEARN.
High school grades are based on SAT scores, graduation rates and college and career readiness.
The new grading system is expected to focus on math, English and literacy mastery in the lower grades and a shift toward skill development and work-based opportunities and credentials in high school.
To offer feedback, see https://idoe.jotform.com/251525933524962
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Senate to Vote on Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill': Here's What It Contains
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. Senate is working through the weekend to pass President Donald Trump's comprehensive domestic policy bill, a sprawling 940-page piece of legislation that Republicans are calling crucial for the nation's economic future. The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed their version, and senators are now working to finalize their draft before sending it back for a final House vote while Democrats remain united in opposition to the package. Why It Matters This legislation represents Trump's signature domestic policy initiative, combining massive tax cuts with significant spending on border security and defense while implementing substantial cuts to social safety net programs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which is nonpartisan, estimates the House's version would add $2.4 trillion to the nation's deficit over the next decade, though Republicans dispute this calculation. The bill's passage would fundamentally reshape federal spending priorities and tax policy, affecting millions of Americans across income levels. What To Know The bill centers on approximately $3.8 trillion in tax cuts, making permanent the tax rates and brackets from Trump's first term while adding new exemptions for tips, overtime pay, and some automotive loans. The legislation would increase the child tax credit from $2,000 to $2,200 and provide a $6,000 deduction for older adults earning under $75,000 annually. The state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap would increase from $10,000 to $40,000 for five years. For border security and immigration enforcement, the package allocates $350 billion, including $46 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and $45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds. The plan aims to deport approximately 1 million people annually through hiring 10,000 new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and expanding Border Patrol forces. To offset costs, Republicans propose significant cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, and green energy programs, potentially saving $1.5 trillion. The legislation would impose new 80-hour monthly work requirements for Medicaid and food stamp recipients up to age 65, while rolling back former President Joe Biden-era's renewable energy tax incentives. The CBO estimates these changes would leave 10.9 million more people without health coverage and 3 million without food stamp eligibility. Additional provisions include $25 billion for the "Golden Dome" missile defense system, establishment of "Trump Accounts" children's savings program, and $40 million for a "National Garden of American Heroes." The bill also restricts artificial intelligence (AI) development, blocks transgender surgeries, and directs the sale of up to 1.2 million acres of public land for housing development. The U.S. Capitol is seen on June 28 in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Capitol is seen on June 28 in Washington, People Are Saying President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Friday: "The Great Republicans in the U.S. Senate are working all weekend to finish our 'ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.' We are on the precipice of delivering Massive General Tax Cuts, NO TAX ON TIPS, NO TAX ON OVERTIME, NO TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY FOR OUR SENIORS, Permanently Securing our Borders, an even Bigger and More Powerful Military." House Republicans' X, formerly Twitter, account wrote on Friday: "House Republicans are united and ready to DELIVER the largest tax cut for working and middle-class Americans in history. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will unleash our economy and restore the American Dream." Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York wrote on X on Saturday: "BREAKING: I will object to Republicans moving forward on their Big, Ugly Bill without reading it on the Senate floor. Republicans won't tell America what's in the bill. So Democrats are forcing it to be read start to finish on the floor. We will be here all night if that's what it takes to read it." Trump on Truth Social on Saturday: "WHY ARE THE DEMOCRATS ALWAYS ROOTING AGAINST AMERICA???" Tech billionaire and MAGA ally Elon Musk wrote on X on Saturday: "Polls show that this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party." In his post, he shared polling data from The Tarrance Group that showed majority opposition across different voter groups. What Happens Next The Senate must complete its work and pass the bill before sending it back to the House for a final vote. Trump has demanded the legislation reach his desk by July 4th. With Democrats united in opposition and some Republican concerns emerging over provisions affecting rural hospitals and AI restrictions, the timeline remains uncertain. Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Millions of students could lose federal aid under a proposal to slash Pell Grants
College presidents are rallying behind Senate Republicans in a bid to stave off megabill cuts to a program that helps more than 6 million low- and middle-income students pay for school. To help avert a $2.7 billion shortfall in the Pell Grant program later this year, the House's version of President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' advanced tighter eligibility rules that alarmed educators. The changes, according to the Congressional Budget Office, could kick nearly 10 percent of Pell recipients off the award and shrink the amount of money most participants receive. Those numbers are driving college leaders — many already facing threats of Trump-driven funding cuts, new endowment taxes and limits on international students — to support the Senate's less-restrictive take on the popular bipartisan program. Mark Brown, a former Trump Education Department official who is now president of Alabama's Tuskegee University, told senators last month that Pell reductions proposed by the House would push students to take out more loans. And some of the nation's largest university systems, like California State University and California Community Colleges, have called the restrictions an 'existential threat.' 'This is a difference between some of those students either coming to our universities or tech colleges or not,' said Jay Rothman, president of the Universities of Wisconsin, whose 13 campuses have roughly 31,600 Pell Grant recipients. Republicans in both chambers are under tremendous pressure from party bosses to find savings that help offset Trump's $4 trillion in broader tax cuts. But higher education leaders across the nation say the House GOP's plans would imperil college access for working students and contend that their institutions can't make up for the loss of federal financial aid. 'There are going to be some students who have the ability and have the passion and have the desire, but will not have the financial means to attend our universities. And there will be students that will not get the benefit of that higher education because of these reductions,' Rothman said. During the 2024-25 award year, the maximum Pell Grant was $7,395, which is determined based on income, family size, federal poverty guidelines and other factors. The House-passed 'big, beautiful bill' would require students to increase their course load from 24 credit hours a year to 30 each year to be eligible for the maximum amount of the grant. Most students would likely have to take 15 credits per semester instead of 12 to get the full award, though students could take summer courses to meet the full-time requirements. The bill also includes language that would bar students enrolled less than half-time from the grant. But the Senate has proposed scaling back the lower chamber's dramatic changes to the grant, and appears to be sticking with its Pell plans in the chamber's latest legislative text. The upper chamber's plan would deem students ineligible for the grant if they receive federal, state, institutional or private aid that covers the full cost of attendance, something campus leaders and advocates deem more favorable. Education Chair Bill Cassidy's proposal strips the full-time definition and half-time language from the panel's portion of the reconciliation bill, to the disgruntlement of some House leaders. 'I'm not OK with it,' said House Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg, whose panel is responsible for the lower chamber's Pell proposal. 'But we learned that we have to deal with reality. We know that we have to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill.' Walberg said he hasn't seen anything in the Senate's proposal that would be a deal breaker but worries about the long-term sustainability of the grant. Pell's estimated shortfall could balloon up to $10 billion by the end of fiscal 2026. Both the House and Senate proposals include funding to address the shortfall, but Walberg has said his proposed changes to eligibility would help rein in annual spending on Pell and help stave off another deficit. 'We thought it was very realistic,' the Michigan Republican said. 'The issue is, if we're going to pay for the shortfall that's going to be in Pell, we have to make sure that we have students that are finishing up, completing an education and moving on.' But some institutions are discouraging students from taking heavy course loads, saying student performance goes down the more classes they take, especially if they have obligations outside of school. 'We actually advise them to take 12, not 15, so that they will do well. Fifteen credits is far too many,' Trinity Washington University President Patricia McGuire said. 'That is such a heavy, heavy academic load for students who are normally working. Also, many of them are raising their own children, many of them have family circumstances that are very stressful. Congress, in addition to not understanding how education works, have no concept of the lives of low-income students.' McGuire, who has headed the D.C. university for over 30 years, said 60 to 70 percent of her nearly 2,000 students are Pell recipients. 'If this goes through, we will go out, and we will make the case directly to donors: Can you help us to close this new gap that the government has created?' she said. 'But that also seems like we shouldn't have to do that.' Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a HELP Committee member, said he just wants the reconciliation bill's education proposals to be 'right in the end' when asked about the House Pell plans. 'Education is hugely important,' he said. Pell eligibility changes, if they become law, could be much more acute for community colleges, where students are often part-time. 'At community colleges, we're about careers, we're about jobs, we're about getting people into the workforce and if they can't afford to access the education, then we certainly can't get them into the workforce,' Forsyth Technical Community College President Janet Spriggs said.
Politico
2 hours ago
- Politico
Louisiana hospitals warn Mike Johnson of 'devastation' from megabill
Senate Republicans released updated megabill text late Friday that would make sharp cuts to the Inflation Reduction Act's solar and wind tax credits after a late-stage push by President Donald Trump to crack down further on the incentives. The text would require solar and wind generation projects seeking to qualify for the law's clean electricity production and investment tax credits to be placed in service by the end of 2027 — significantly more restrictive than an earlier proposal by the Senate Finance Committee that tied eligibility to when a project begins construction. The changes came after Trump urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune to crack down on the wind and solar credits and align the measure more closely with reconciliation text, H.R.1, that passed the House, as POLITICO reported earlier on Friday. The changes are likely to put some moderate GOP senators, who have backed a slower schedule for sunsetting those incentives, in a tough position. They'll be forced to choose between rejecting Trump's agenda or allowing the gutting of tax credits that could lead to canceled projects and job losses in their states — something renewable energy advocates are also warning about. 'We are literally going to have not enough electricity because Trump is killing solar. It's that serious,' Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) responded on X early Saturday. 'We need a bunch of new power on the grid, and nothing is as available as solar. Everything else takes a while. Meantime, expect shortages and high prices. Stupid.' The revised text would retain the investment and production tax credits for baseload sources, such as nuclear, geothermal, hydropower or energy storage, as proposed in the Finance Committee's earlier proposal. But it would make other significant changes, including extending a tax credit for clean hydrogen production until 2028. The panel's earlier proposal would have eliminated the credit after this year. And despite vocal lobbying by the solar industry, the proposal would maintain an abrupt cut to the tax incentive supporting residential solar power. The committee's earlier proposal would have eliminated that credit six months after the enactment of the bill; now the updated draft proposes repealing it at the end of this year. It would also deny certain wind and solar leasing arrangements from accessing the climate law's clean electricity investment and production tax credits, but, in a notable change, removed earlier language specifically disallowing rooftop solar. And it would move up the timeline for certain rules barring foreign entities of concern from accessing those credits. The bill would move up the termination date for electric vehicle tax credits to Sept. 30, compared to six months after enactment in the earlier Finance text. The credit for EV chargers would extend through June 2026. The new text also provides a bonus incentive for advanced nuclear facilities built in communities with high levels of employment in the nuclear industry. And the bill makes metallurgical coal eligible for the advanced manufacturing production tax credit through 2029. Sam Ricketts, co-founder of S2 Strategies, a clean energy policy consulting group, said the new draft is going to 'screw' ratepayers, kill jobs and undermine U.S. economic competitiveness. 'All just to give fossil fuel executives more profits,' he said. 'Or to own the libs. Insanity.' Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
