Indiana’s first statewide A-F school ratings in eight years will draw on a new ILEARN baseline. In Marion County, nearly one in five students achieved proficiency in both English and math on the latest test, below the statewide dual-proficiency rate of 31.5%. School-level results released in September 2026 are the first data set the state will use to assign every public school a new accountability rating.
What the New Baseline Can Show
According to WFYI, the Marion County figures cover 11 school districts and 46 charter schools. The redesigned testing system includes fall, winter, and spring checkpoints before the summative spring exam. State officials caution that 2026 results are not directly comparable with earlier years: the test measures fewer academic standards and uses new proficiency cut scores.
Beech Grove Superintendent Laura Hammack told WFYI that multiple years of results will be needed to judge whether the redesigned test and rating system are working. She said she will watch whether the through-year assessments and focus on individual student growth lead to stronger outcomes.
Why the Numbers Matter Beyond the Classroom
The results could matter beyond state report cards. The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation may incorporate ILEARN results into its separate rating system for district and charter schools within IPS boundaries, a framework that could inform future school closure decisions, WFYI reports. Indiana is also bringing back statewide A-F ratings for the first time since 2018, using the point-based framework the State Board of Education approved in March, as detailed in Hoodline's earlier coverage.
Within Marion County, performance varied sharply by district. The School Town of Speedway and the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township were the only two local districts to exceed the state average for proficiency in English, math, and both subjects combined, the outlet reports. Speedway students were proficient in both subjects at a rate of nearly 52%, while Washington Township posted 32.8%.
Beech Grove's Virtual School Skews the Numbers
Beech Grove had the county’s lowest district-wide dual-proficiency rate, at 11%. WFYI reported that Beech Grove Virtual School enrolls more than 2,000 students, roughly doubling the district’s overall size, and that state testing data shows virtual schools typically post lower achievement levels than brick-and-mortar schools.
Beech Grove contracts with Stride, formerly known as K12, which runs the Indiana Digital Learning School. Hammack called the arrangement an “incredible partnership” and said the online school serves a different population from in-person schools. WFYI reported that the district holds meetings to analyze student performance data.
Racial Achievement Gaps Persist Across the County
Achievement gaps between white, Black, and Hispanic students also persisted in the new data. Within Indianapolis Public Schools, Black students reached dual proficiency at a rate of just 5.8%, and Hispanic students at 7.8%. Charter school students in those same racial groups fared somewhat better, with Black students reaching 14.7% dual proficiency and Hispanic students at 13.5%, figures that track closer to the statewide marks of 14.2% for Black students and 19.4% for Hispanic students. The charter racial analysis excludes unaffiliated virtual schools, adult high schools, and schools with suppressed low-count data, per the WFYI report.
How the Numbers Translate Into Letter Grades
Indiana’s new A-F framework awards points for measures beyond overall proficiency. Schools can earn credit for proficiency in science and social studies; third-grade IREAD reading proficiency and growth; eighth-grade completion of high school-level coursework; and seventh-grade creation of a graduation plan. The Indiana Department of Education will also factor in student growth compared with previous years, using a statistical method that compares percentiles across different tests. The agency previously used this growth approach when adopting ILEARN in 2019 and shifting to ISTEP+ in 2015.
Statewide, the broader test results released by Chalkbeat show 42.0% of Hoosier students in grades 3-8 reached proficiency in English and 42.7% in math, with sharper drop-offs in math proficiency among older students; only 34% of eighth graders reached math proficiency compared with more than half of third and fourth graders. A separate Chalkbeat analysis found that economic status also shaped outcomes statewide, with 29% of students receiving free or reduced-price meals reaching English proficiency compared with 53% of their non-subsidized peers, according to Inside Indiana Business.
What the New Results Can—and Cannot—Show
An Indiana Department of Education standard-setting memo says the ILEARN proficiency-level descriptors adopted in July 2018 remain in effect, even though the state set new cut scores for the redesigned test. The retained descriptors do not make results directly comparable with earlier years, particularly because the 2026 test measures fewer academic standards. Virtual-school enrollment provides statewide context, not an explanation for Beech Grove’s results: Indiana Public Media, citing an Indiana Capital Chronicle review of state enrollment data, reported that nearly 29,000 Hoosiers attended virtual K-12 schools in 2025. That statewide figure does not establish how Beech Grove Virtual School performed relative to other virtual schools.
Indiana's official A-F school ratings are expected to be released by the end of 2026. For now, school grades do not trigger state intervention or takeover, leaving districts like Beech Grove and Washington Township to wait and see how this new baseline year will ultimately be judged.
