The Indiana State Board of Education has approved a resolution that affirms the state’s new Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed (Indiana GPS) school performance dashboard characteristics.
The board feels these characteristics best indicate how prepared a student is to have success after high school.
“By recognizing that our students are so much more than just a single data point, the Indiana GPS characteristics and dashboard provide an opportunity to re-envision how we’re strategically measuring school performance and, most importantly, helps us focus our work across all grades on preparing our students for what’s next. Regardless of whether a student’s plans after high school involve enrollment, employment or enlistment leading to service, it’s important that every student is building the knowledge and skills necessary throughout K-12 to pursue future success,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education.
Those five characteristics are as follows:
-Academic mastery
-Career and postsecondary readiness, credentials, and experiences
-Communication and collaboration
-Work ethic
-Civic, financial, and digital literacy
The board came up with these characteristics after taking public comment from families, students, teachers, school administrators, and business leaders across the state.
House Enrolled Act 1514 was passed during the 2021 legislative session, which directs the Indiana Department of Education to develop a school performance dashboard that promotes transparency and multiple student measures.
Up next, the Department of Education will take public comment and get input from stakeholders on how to measure each characteristic. The State Board of Education will consider that at its meeting in December.