Boone County 2014 Education Outcomes Comparison

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Most of us have been brought up to believe that a letter grade of “A” designates an excellent education outcome.

Boone County students reside within the school districts of four public school corporations - Lebanon Community School Corporation, Sheridan Community Schools, Western Boone County Community School District, and Zionsville Community Schools. Each of these school corporations has been awarded an “A” Grade: see “2014 A-F Corporation Grade Results” from the Indiana Department of Education web page at http://www.doe.in.gov/accountability/find-school-and-corporation-data-reports.

So, is it accurate to conclude that every Boone County school corporation has achieved excellent education outcomes? The answer is No when one looks carefully at the underlying data.

First of all, the Grade breakdown for all 289 Indiana school corporations is as follows:
132 Grade “A” School Corporations (45.67% of all school corporations)
  94 Grade “B” School Corporations (32.53% of all school corporations)
  54 Grade “C” School Corporations (18.69% of all school corporations)
    8 Grade “D” School Corporations (2.77% of all school corporations)
    1 Grade “F” School Corporation (0.35% of all school corporations)

Nobody believes that 45.67% of all Indiana school corporations are achieving excellent education outcomes.

A clearer picture of education outcomes excellence emerges when one compares the ISTEP Pass Plus test results of the four Boone County public school corporations with each other and the statewide averages.

Indiana grade 3 through 8 students who take the annual ISTEP tests earn one of the following scores for each test taken:
Pass Plus - The student is high-achieving in the subject.
Pass - The student demonstrates proficiency in the subject.
Did Not Pass - The student may require remedial assistance to be successful at the current grade level.

A Pass Plus score on an ISTEP test can be reasonably identified as an excellent education outcome. Listed next are the 2014 Pass Plus results for each of the 16 ISTEP tests taken by the Lebanon, Sheridan, Western Boone, and Zionsville school corporations compared to the statewide averages. This data was obtained from the Indiana Department of Education in response to a public records request – if you wish to receive a copy of the public records request response, please send an E-mail to taxless3@comcast,net and ask for a copy of the response.

A. Grade 3 ISTEP English & Language Arts Pass Plus Percentage
1. 25.52% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 13.51% Sheridan Schools Corporation
3. 12.82% Western Boone Schools Corporation
4. 7.83% Lebanon Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 11.19%

B. Grade 4 ISTEP English & Language Arts Pass Plus Percentage
1. 45.17% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 23.97% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 20.07% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 12.35% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 20.86%

C. Grade 5 ISTEP English & Language Arts Pass Plus Percentage
1. 31.17% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 17.31% Lebanon Schools Corporation
3. 15.83% Western Boone Schools Corporation
4. 14.29% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 18.92%

D. Grade 6 ISTEP English & Language Arts Pass Plus Percentage
1. 36.88% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 27.78% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 25.00% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 12.33% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 24.85%

E. Grade 7 ISTEP English & Language Arts Pass Plus Percentage
1. 34.31% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 27.59% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 16.48% Sheridan Schools Corporation
4. 13.06% Lebanon Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 17.13%

F. Grade 8 ISTEP English & Language Arts Pass Plus Percentage
1. 18.03% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 9.49% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 5.95% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 5.26% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 9.11%

G. Grade 3 ISTEP Math Pass Plus Percentage
1. 59.92% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 38.46% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 28.18% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 25.68% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 27.91%

H. Grade 4 ISTEP Math Pass Plus Percentage
1. 58.57% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 34.71% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 32.10% Sheridan Schools Corporation
4. 31.11% Lebanon Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 29.37%

I. Grade 5 ISTEP Math Pass Plus Percentage
1. 63.15% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 54.55% Sheridan Schools Corporation
3. 43.13% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 35.25% Western Boone Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 38.48%

J. Grade 6 ISTEP Math Pass Plus Percentage
1. 48.91% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 39.45% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 25.41% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 8.22% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 25.28%

K. Grade 7 ISTEP Math Pass Plus Percentage
1. 59.54% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 52.99% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 22.22% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 21.98% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 30.08%

L. Grade 8 ISTEP Math Pass Plus Percentage
1. 45.92% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 21.58% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 19.44% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 12.99% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 24.72%

M. Grade 4 ISTEP Science Pass Plus Percentage
1. 54.30% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 28.93% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 26.02% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 20.99% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 21.24%

N. Grade 6 ISTEP Science Pass Plus Percentage
1. 41.74% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 32.38% Lebanon Schools Corporation
3. 25.93% Western Boone Schools Corporation
4. 24.66% Sheridan Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 24.96%

O. Grade 5 ISTEP Social Studies Pass Plus Percentage
1. 47.20% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 32.05% Sheridan Schools Corporation
3. 29.28% Lebanon Schools Corporation
4. 25.18% Western Boone Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 23.99%

P. Grade 7 ISTEP Social Studies Pass Plus Percentage
1. 58.79% Zionsville Schools Corporation
2. 52.59% Western Boone Schools Corporation
3. 31.87% Sheridan Schools Corporation
4. 29.21% Lebanon Schools Corporation
Statewide Average 29.70%

The conclusions listed next result from an analysis of the 2014 ISTEP Pass Plus results for the Boone County school corporations.

(1) Zionsville Schools Corporation. Zionsville ranked first in the county in Pass Plus achievement for all 16 ISTEP tests. The Pass Plus outcomes ranged from 1.48 to 2.56 times better than the statewide average. By any measure, the Zionsville ISTEP Pass Plus results were an excellent education outcome.

(2) Western Boone Schools Corporation. Western Boone ranked second in the county in Pass Plus achievement for 11 of the ISTEP tests, ranked third for 3 of the ISTEP tests, and ranked fourth for 2 of the ISTEP tests. However, Western Boone cannot claim the ISTEP Pass Plus results were an overall excellent education outcome because the percentage of students with a Pass Plus score was less than the statewide average for 3 of the 16 ISTEP tests.

(3) Lebanon Schools Corporation. Lebanon ranked second in the county in Pass Plus achievement for 2 of the ISTEP tests, ranked third for 10 of the ISTEP tests, and ranked fourth for 4 of the ISTEP tests. The Lebanon ISTEP Pass Plus results were not an excellent education outcome because the percentage of students with a Pass Plus score was less than the statewide average for 8 of the 16 ISTEP tests.

(4) Sheridan Schools Corporation. Sheridan ranked second in the county in Pass Plus achievement for 3 of the ISTEP tests, ranked third for 3 of the ISTEP tests, and ranked fourth for 10 of the ISTEP tests. The Sheridan ISTEP Pass Plus results were clearly not an excellent education outcome because the percentage of students with a Pass Plus score was less than the statewide average for 11 of the 16 ISTEP tests.

These analysis conclusions are important for Lebanon. Lebanon officials the past seven years have spent many taxpayer and utility ratepayer dollars on gateways, infrastructure subsidies for developers, community amenities, and tax abatements in an effort to make Lebanon a “destination community” for young professional families. This spending has failed to attract young professional families to Lebanon because excellent education outcomes are a tipping point when these families decide where to reside – and the education outcomes of Lebanon’s schools compare unfavorably to the excellent education outcomes of the Zionsville schools.

The bottom line reality is that (a) the key to making Lebanon a destination community for young professional families depends on the Lebanon schools having excellent education outcomes and (b) it will be a number of years before the Lebanon schools close the excellent education outcomes gap with the Zionsville schools despite the best efforts of the Lebanon community. All Lebanon residents must daily emphasize the vital importance of continuing education for the workforce development of Lebanon’s children and parents. In the meantime, Lebanon must also redirect its taxpayer and utility ratepayer spending on infrastructure improvements and other important needs that target smart growth (Lebanon needs to reclaim its niche of being a good location with a moderate cost of living for all young families purchasing their first “starter” home) – and stop the wishful spending for lifestyle wants that will not attract young professional families because Lebanon’s schools are just not yet good enough.

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This page was last updated on 08/30/15.