GREENWOOD — It's already been a big talker this legislative session — how to catch Hoosier kids up after the pandemic and improve literacy rates?
The Indiana Department of Education reports our literacy rates have declined for a decade, even before the pandemic. And since 2012, the number of students who are not able to read at the end of third grade, has more than doubled. This is why Indiana continues to make historic investments in literacy tools and lawmakers debate the best ways to deal with this critical issue.
But as many school districts saw scores decline for i-Learn (the state's standardized test) during the challenging years of the pandemic, one Johnson County school saw huge gains in recent years on their scores.
WRTV stopped by Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi Catholic School in Johnson County. The school serving students up to the eighth grade kicked off this school year with a Kona Ice party for students and staff after their i-Learn scores landed them #6 highest in the state for the previous year.
"A sense of pride they have developed," said Principal Betty Popp. "And I think that's important, that kids care about their learning."
Popp says she challenged her staff and students to continue to set their goals even higher for this current school year.
"They've kind of become accustomed to looking at where they perform," said Popp. "And then, filling out a goal sheet with a teacher saying, this is where I want to be."
Popp credits not only her faculty, staff and students for their growth in recent years but also the implementation of an assessment program called i-Ready.
According to the state, the i-Ready assessment is a diagnostic tool that schools can purchase through IDOE's formative assessment grant to help increase data-driven instructional practices and enrich learning for all students.
IDOE reports that for the 2023-2024 school year, 196 corporations in the state are utilizing the formative assessment grant to provide the i-Ready assessment in one or more grades in English/language arts or math.
According to Curriculum Associates, who provide the i-Ready program nationwide, more than 12 million students from more than 35,800 schools across the country use i-Ready.
"When we have that knowledge of where we are then we can grow from that," said Matt Goddard.
Goddard is a Physical Education and Social Studies teacher for SSFC, and he also serves as the i-Ready coordinator.
"The biggest thing is giving that data to the teachers where they don't have to go and look for it and do their own assessments and that stuff," said Goddard. "So it really yells it at them. It shows them who it is, and where they are deficient."
SSFC utilizes i-Ready with intention. They originally piloted the program with a few grades before the pandemic, but when Covid 19 closed classroom doors across the state, SSFC made the choice to implement the assessment program for additional grades of students. And now, they dedicate 30 minutes of class time everyday for i-Ready.
Teachers take their students to a special classroom for i-Ready work. Students complete lessons online and teachers get data on where each student excels and in what areas they need extra help. The i-Ready program can tailor the lessons to where students need more work on an individual level, and teachers can pull small groups of students during this dedicated time to work on specific topics where they need help. It also allows students excelling to try more challenging lessons.
According to Curriculum Associates, i-Ready helps educators meet students where they are, whether they are below, at, or above grade level. Then a mid-year and end-of-year diagnostic helps students and teachers measure growth and further tailor instructional supports.
The walls of the i-Ready classroom at SSFC are filled with names and notes, as students can document their growth and successes day to day. They have challenges between classes with a reward system for completing lessons. They also celebrate student growth with rewards.
The students do three main benchmark assessments throughout the year and parents are in the loop on that data.
"We get the teachers involved in it, we get the students involved in it, and then the parents are also involved, so they see what it is and what those numbers mean," said Goddard. "Now we have that data for them frequently, so they can always see where they can go and how they can help their child."
For parent Stephanie Cheesman, she says the process has been phenomenal for her son who is 13 and attends SSFC.
"The expectations for i-Ready have always been crystal clear," said Cheesman, who herself spent many years working in education. "There are no surprises."
She says her son has made a habit of setting goals and keeping track of where he is and where he needs more work, and that has helped ease the stress of the annual i-Learn exam.
As a parent, she says it is crucial for her to be part of her child's education.
"As far as I'm concerned, next to our faith development, it is my primary job as a parent to be involved and to encourage and support Reagan and the teachers that he's with," said Cheesman.
Principal Popp adds that the school also teaches phonics, a foundation for reading. She says they also took time as a staff to look at data from both i-Learn and i-Ready and saw they really needed to work to improve grammar skills, so that has been a big classroom focus in recent years.
She says teachers also make an effort to review concepts throughout the year to combat learning loss.
IDOE says one of the most important things parents can do to support early literacy is reading with their child. This can include reading-aloud together or encouraging them to read at least 30 minutes each day.
Access to books can be a barrier for many Hoosier families, which is why WRTV and our parent company Scripps works to provide books to students through our annual "If You Give a Child a Book"campaign.
IDOE suggests families sign up for The Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which was recently expanded statewide. Participating students from birth to age 5 receive one free book per month, no income checks required.
IDOE also launched a new Parent and Family Support Hub on the Indiana Learning Lab in 2023 to provide free access to learning resources. This site is available 24/7 to parents.
The Indiana Learning Lab grew from 6,000 users in 2021 to over 55,000 users just two years later, which includes the launch of the the Parent and Family Support Hub.
For more learning resources available to families, visit in.gov/doe.
