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Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed (Indiana GPS)

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We know that students are so much more than a single test score. Extensive feedback from educators, families, communities, and employers has consistently shown that there are a number key characteristics critical to a student’s lifelong success. Whether their next steps include enrollment, employment, or enlistment leading to service, we all share a commitment to preparing Indiana’s students for a dynamic future.

Together, our mission is to empower Indiana’s educators, families, communities, and employers with a learner-centered, future-focused dashboard that displays how our students are building the necessary knowledge and skills—in all grades and in all schools— through the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard, or Indiana GPS.

The Indiana GPS dashboard seeks to:

  • Empower educators by providing a variety of essential data points to support continuous improvement of student learning across the K-12 continuum,
  • Support families and community stakeholders by providing meaningful, relevant, and transparent information about school progress and performance, and
  • Elevate the highest-performing schools as models of excellence, and identify other schools for additional support.

What is the progress so far in developing Indiana GPS?

The first iteration of Indiana GPS is now live! Click here to view the dashboard!

In fall 2021, Indiana engaged stakeholders across the state to name five characteristics that indicate a student’s preparation for success after high school. These characteristics include:

  • Academic mastery;
  • Career and postsecondary readiness (credentials and experience);
  • Communication and collaboration;
  • Work ethic; and
  • Civic, financial, and digital literacy.

These characteristics served as a guide in next defining a set of performance indicators, which help illustrate each characteristic. A draft set of indicators was released for public feedback in November and ultimately approved by the State Board of Education in December.

In November 2022, IDOE shared an embargoed pre-release of the first iteration of the dashboard with all 2,222 schools and 290 districts. A Jotform was shared to allow schools and districts to ask questions and make suggestions for future iterations of Indiana GPS. In total, IDOE received over 200 inquiries. Based on this feedback from local partners, IDOE logged 70 enhancements for future iterations of Indiana GPS.

In conjunction with the embargoed pre-release, IDOE also worked with a number of schools to review each indicator and the underlying student-level data. This review took a sampling of schools and cross-referenced their local data with Indiana GPS data to ensure a thorough understanding of the methods of calculation and stress-test the system prior to the public release.

Why is this important?

As the global economy changes and technology advances, we must work together to ensure every student develops knowledge and skills throughout the K-12 years and forges connections to college and career pathways so they are prepared for life beyond high school.

PreK-Grade 2: Where do we start?

A student’s access to early education is an essential first step in their academic and overall development. Measuring kindergarten readiness, as well as a student’s PreK-2 literacy progress can provide key indicators of future success across the K-12 continuum.

  • Students who participate in Indiana's On My Way Pre-K program perform better on general school readiness skills, including language and literacy skills in kindergarten.

Grades 3-8: What are the essential building blocks?

Knowledge and skill development continues in elementary and middle school as students build literacy and math skills, which lay the foundation for future learning and problem-solving. This is also a time for students to begin exploring and engaging with career opportunities, illuminating the range of possibilities available to them.

  • Students who pass the IREAD-3 assessment by grade three are roughly 35% more likely to graduate high school.
    • 1 out of every 5 third graders in Indiana is not proficient in key literacy skills.
  • Early mathematics instruction focuses on concrete concepts before transitioning to more complex ideas after grade six. Students who are meeting growth goals at this critical juncture have a leg up on future math and science learning.
    • 33% of Indiana sixth graders are meeting their math growth goals.

Grades 9-12: How do we re-think high school?

Our work continues through high school, where in partnership with higher education and employers, we are expanding access to intentional college credit opportunities that allow students to earn transferable, stackable credentials before graduation, as well as high-quality work-based learning experiences.

  • Through Graduation Pathways, Indiana's class of 2023 will be the first to individualize their graduation requirements to align to their future goals of employment, enrollment, or enlistment leading to service. 
    • 86% of Indiana students complete their graduation requirements.
  • Increased education levels are positively correlated to labor participation, wages, and overall net worth.
    • Today, 64% of high school students earn college credit, placing them one step closer to completing a credential beyond a high school diploma. Almost 5% of these students earn a college or career credential before graduation, opening doors of future opportunity.

Graduation and beyond: What comes next?

We know that education positively impacts a person’s quality of life, health, employment, and living wage. The future of our students, our communities, and our state depend on a K-12 system that helps everyone succeed, whether their post-graduation plans include employment, enrollment, or enlistment leading to service. We measure the long-term success of each Hoosier by examining indicators such as median income and sustained employment.

  • 99% of new jobs created since the Great Recession (2008/2009) go to Americans with some education beyond high school.
    • Over the course of a lifetime, Hoosiers with education beyond high school are likely to earn $1 million more than those with only a high school diploma.

What are the next steps?

The first iteration of the dashboard – which includes the scrollytelling landing page, the state infographic page, as well as school and district landing pages – will launch publicly in December 2022. The second iteration – which will display all local data, including longitudinal and disaggregated data – is coming soon. Later in 2023, schools will be able to use the dashboard to view authenticated student-level data (not available to the public).

IDOE will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to bring together pertinent data and develop additional approved indicators.

Resources

Indiana GPS Update - Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Indiana GPS Update - Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024

Indiana GPS Update - Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023

Indiana GPS Update - Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022

First-Look at Indiana GPS Dashboard Development - Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022

GPS Indicator Measurement Update – Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Dashboard Design Update - Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022

Approval of Headline Metrics - Dec. 15, 2021

Presentation of Indicators - Nov. 10, 2021

Approval of Characteristics - Oct. 13, 2021

Presentation of Indiana GPS & Characteristics - Sept. 1, 2021