Indiana's K-12 Accountability Model | Schools & Districts

An elementary school serving only K, Grade 1, or Grade 2 is a feeder school. For accountability purposes, a school MUST serve Grade 2 students as a maximum to receive a grade and its grade is based on the weighted average of Grade 3 final numeric ratings for its former students in up to five receiving schools (those with the highest census of feeder school students). If no eligible receiving schools exist, the feeder school receives a "null" category.

A school with at least 10 but fewer than 30 eligible students uses a cumulative aggregate, adding prior years' data until 30 students are reached. A school with fewer than 10 eligible students receives a "null" category. A school with fewer than 30 students and no prior data to aggregate also receives "null."

Schools are assessed on the grade spans applicable to the grades they serve. A K–6 school is assessed on the Grade 3 and Grades 4–8 spans (for Grades 4–6) and will receive 3 grades total — a 3rd grade score, a 4–8 grade score, and a total weighted average.

A 7–12 school is assessed on the Grades 4–8 span (for Grades 7–8), Grade 10, and Grade 12 spans and will receive 4 grades total — a 4–8 grade score, a 10th grade score, a 12th grade score, and a total weighted average.

Buildings serving only K–2 are assessed as feeder schools.

No. Superscoring SAT results across multiple test administrations is not permitted. The SAT test results from the school day test administration are only utilized for the Accountability Grade.

Completing 150 hours of work-based learning is a separate Student Success Indicator from earning a diploma seal. Earning a seal contributes to a graduate's Academic Mastery base points; completing 150 WBL hours earns a separate Student Success Indicator. These are distinct components treated independently in the calculation.

Students earning an Alternate Diploma are treated as graduates with no seal for purposes of the Grade 12 diploma/Student Success Indicator calculation.

An I AM test taker, scoring below proficiency, and also a newcomer English learner (enrolled in U.S. schools for more than 12 months and less than 24 months) is scored using the dedicated I AM point table. For meeting their WIDA language proficiency target, they earn 45 points — reflected in the newcomer EL column of the Grade 3 point matrix.

Yes. Students with a GCE — including those with an EL GCE — are still counted in the school accountability model, provided they meet the standard eligibility criteria. All students in grades 3–8 are included if they:

• Were enrolled for at least 162 days,
• Have a valid ILEARN or I AM score, and
• Are not English learners who have been in U.S. schools for fewer than 12 months.

A GCE does not remove a student from the accountability pool. The exemption applies to grade retention decisions, not to accountability inclusion. Schools should not assume that a GCE student is excluded from contributing to the school's Accountability Grade.

The Grade 12 table always runs one year behind because graduation rate data is not finalized until the end of the calendar year. The 2026 state accountability grades (released in late fall 2026) will use the 2025 cohort for the Grade 12 table. The 2026 cohort will then appear in the Grade 12 table for the 2027 state accountability grades.

The Grade 10 table uses the current year's 10th grade cohort. For example, the 2028 cohort will be included in the 2025–2026 state accountability grades in the Grade 10 table.

This also means the Grade 12 table includes all graduates in the applicable cohort — not only those who opted into the new Indiana Diploma. Students on the old Core 40 diploma track remain fully included in the Grade 12 table and are eligible to earn Student Success Indicator bonus points during the transition period (2025-2026 through 2028-2029).

2026 growth timing
2026 growth will be calculated after the 2026 ILEARN scores are complete and validated. There will be some delay due to standard setting. Schools should not expect 2026 SGP data to be available at the same time as raw ILEARN score releases.

How SGP works
A SGP describes a student's learning compared to other Indiana students with the same prior assessment history — their academic peers. A growth target (SGP goal) is also calculated, representing the growth a student needs each year to reach proficiency within four years. For Grades 4–8, growth can contribute to up to three Student Success Indicators:

• One Year of Academic Progress: SGP of 45 or greater.
• Accelerated Academic Progress: SGP of 65 or greater.
• Excellence in Academic Progress: Student was Approaching or Below Expectations and met their individual SGP growth target.

ELA and Math are separate
SGPs are calculated independently for ELA and Math. A student may qualify for a growth Student Success Indicator in one subject but not the other. Both subject tables are used — the student's growth in ELA contributes to their ELA point total, and growth in Math contributes to their Math point total.

WIDA growth (EL students)
"Meeting English Language Proficiency Goal" means a student has met their WIDA SGP target — the amount of growth needed each year to reach English language proficiency within six years. This is separate from the ILEARN-based SGP.