Putnam County public schools’ ISTEP+ scores, other data

The Indiana Department of Education recently released 2017 ISTEP+ scores. Here’s a summary of those scores and some other figures for all public Putnam County schools.

All information is based on latest figures and available at www.doe.in.gov/accountability/find-school-and-corporation-data-reports. A - F school grades will not be released until Oct. 4.

Overall, county schools continue to improve.

Cloverdale Community Schools had the highest graduation rate at 98.2 percent and the second most improved ISTEP+ scores.

“I am very proud of the efforts of administration, teachers, staff and students,” Cloverdale Superintendent Greg Linton said. “During the past year their efforts to identify the specific needs of students and then implement effective learning strategies in the classroom has supported the academic growth we have seen in our students. We will continue to work together to provide our students with meaningful educational opportunities that will produce good results.”

Greencastle Community Schools had the highest percentage of graduates with Core 40 diplomas at 68 percent and the highest percentage of graduates taking the ACT at 19.16 percent.

“I want to stay positive, and we’re always looking for ways to improve,” Greencastle High School Principal Russ Hesler said. “I have a faculty and staff who are ready to roll up their sleeves and do whatever it takes to make those improvements. We’re more than just ISTEP numbers. Are we getting kids ready for postsecondary opportunities, whether it be vocational school, higher education, drama, music? I think absolutely. I think we’ve got some incredible students.”

North Putnam Community Schools was most improved in ISTEP+ scores, increasing by 4.8 percentage points in grades 3-8 and 18 percentage points in grade 10.

“I think it is really a credit to our students and teachers and administration team,” North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. “I also think it’s a credit to families. I think they’ve taken the test seriously, and they’ve worked really hard to improve our grades. I just have great pride for them. It’s a total community effort to get where we’re at, and I think we did.”

South Putnam Community Schools had the highest percentage of graduates passing at least one AP exam at 28.89 percent, the highest percentage of students passing the ECA at 87.2 percent and the highest percentage of graduates with Honors diplomas at 96 percent.

South Putnam Community Schools also had the highest percentage of graduates with dual credit at 72 percent, the highest percentage of graduates taking the SAT at 70 percent, the highest average composite SAT score at 998.1 out of 2400 and the highest average composite ACT scores at 25.9 out of 36.

“We are proud of the hard work our students and staff do to prepare for these tests and now we are in the process of determining what areas they need to focus on to improve the skills of our students,” South Putnam Superintendent Bruce Bernhardt said. “We strive for continuous improvement.”

He also commented on the testing process as a whole, saying, “Consistency with the testing documents is an issue that has been raised by some of our staff. While the state contends that the tests were similar the last two years, many of our teachers have stated that they were very different last year from the previous year.

“This makes it difficult to plan and focus instruction throughout the year. This spring we will be using the same testing instrument again, but the following year there will be an entirely different test. Continued change makes it challenging, but we will all work hard to provide the best instruction for our students.”

2017 ISTEP+ (percentage passing both math and English-Language Arts)

-- State: 65.2 percent (grades 3-8, down 0.9 percentage points), 60.7 percent (grade 10, up 1.7)

-- Cloverdale Community School Corporation: 49.8 percent (up 1.3), 41.1 percent (up 15.4)

-- Cloverdale Elementary School: 53.3 percent

-- Cloverdale Middle School: 48.0 percent

-- Cloverdale High School: 41.1 percent

-- Greencastle Community School Corporation: 46.8 percent (up 0.1), 31.2 percent (up 7.6)

-- Deer Meadow Primary School: not applicable/K - 2 grades only

-- Ridpath Primary School: not applicable/ K - 2 grades only

-- Tzouanakis Intermediate School: 45.0 percent

-- Greencastle Middle School: 48.9 percent

-- Greencastle Senior High School: 31.2 percent

-- North Putnam Community School Corporation: 55.5 percent (up 4.8), 41.9 percent (up 18)

-- Bainbridge Elementary School: 53.0 percent

-- Roachdale Elementary School: 70.0 percent

-- North Putnam Middle School: 52.5 percent

-- North Putnam High School: 41.9 percent

-- South Putnam Communtiy School Corporation: 46.3 percent (down 1.1), 27.3 percent (down 14.9)

-- Central Elementary School: 47.8 percent

-- Fillmore Elementary School: 50.8 percent

-- South Putnam Middle School: 44.3 percent

-- South Putnam Jr./Sr. High School: 27.3 percent

2014-15 Advanced Placement (AP) Scores (percentage graduates passing at least one exam)

-- Cloverdale Community School Corporation: 10.96 percent (down 0.02)

-- Greencastle Community School Corporation: 15.75 percent (down 3.45)

-- North Putnam Community School Corporation: 13.64 percent (down 6.36)

-- South Putnam Community School Corporation: 28.89 percent (up 6.21)

2015 End-of-Course Assessments (ECA) (total percentage passing)

-- Cloverdale Community School Corporation: 83.0 percent (up 8)

-- Greencastle Community School Corporation: 81.4 percent (up 2.3)

-- North Putnam Community School Corporation: 82.8 percent (down 1.8)

-- South Putnam Community School Corporation: 87.2 percent (up 5.9)

2016 Graduation Rates

-- Cloverdale Community School Corporation: 98.2 percent (up 4.9)

-- Greencastle Community School Corporation: 93.0 percent (up 4.2)

-- North Putnam Community School Corporation: 92.7 percent (up 1.8)

-- South Putnam Community School Corporation: 96.3 percent (down 2.6)

2015 Indiana College Readiness Reports (Honors, Core 40 and dual credit, respectively)

-- Cloverdale Community School Corporation: 81 percent (down 3); 45 percent (up 9); 55 percent (up 1)

-- Greencastle Community School Corporation: 88 percent (up 3); 68 percent (up 8); 71 percent (down 2)

-- North Putnam Community School Corporation: not applicable/does not offer; 47 percent; 58 percent (up 9)

-- South Putnam Community School Corporation: 96 percent (down 4); 58 percent (down 4) 72 percent (up 6)

2014-15 SAT Scores (percentage of graduates, average composite score out of 2400)

-- Cloverdale Community School Corporation: 47.95 percent, 902.3 (59.76 percent, 925.3 in 2013-14)

-- Greencastle Community School Corporation: 66.93 percent, 976.6 (76.80 percent, 972.5)

-- North Putnam Community School Corporation: 62.73 percent, 959.6 (51.54 percent, 1001.6)

-- South Putnam Community School Corporation: 70.0 percent, 998.1 (60.82 percent, 969.8)

2014-15 ACT Scores (percentage of graduates, average composite score out of 36)

-- Cloverdale Community School Corporation: 4.12 percent, 21.8 (3.42 percent, 18.5 in 2013-14)

-- Greencastle Community School Corporation: 19.16 percent, 22.0 (15.72 percent, 21.5)

-- North Putnam Community School Corporation: 3.60 percent, 23.8 (6.41 percent, 24.7)

-- South Putnam Community School Corporation: 8.41 percent, 25.9 (4.39 percent, 22.2)