Indiana's Evolving Education Accountability Model: A Comprehensive Explanation
For years, Indiana's A to F school grading system painted an incomplete picture of educational quality. Heavily reliant on a single standardized test, this system reduced schools to a single score, often failing to capture the nuances of student progress and the broader learning environment. However, this is beginning to change. In June 2025, the Indiana State Board of Education released the first draft of a new school accountability model, signaling a shift towards a more comprehensive and student-centered approach. This new model aims to prioritize student readiness, growth, and opportunity as key indicators of success, moving beyond a simple compliance exercise to reflect a more holistic view of education.
The Need for Change: Why Indiana Is Overhauling Accountability
The overhaul of Indiana's accountability model stems from growing concerns that the previous system was no longer effectively serving students or accurately reflecting school performance. For over a decade, Indiana relied on the A to F letter grade system, which primarily assessed schools based on standardized test scores. While initially intended to promote transparency, this system became increasingly misaligned with the broader goals of educators, families, and policymakers.
By 2018, a combination of testing changes and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to a suspension of official grades, creating an accountability vacuum. In response, Indiana lawmakers passed House Enrolled Act 1498 in 2023, mandating the State Board of Education to adopt a new school performance model by December 2025. This law reflects a bipartisan consensus that the previous system oversimplified school performance and failed to capture the full spectrum of student success.
Governor Mike Braun and other state education leaders have emphasized the need for a more meaningful model that balances rigor with relevance. They argue that accountability should extend beyond mere proficiency and reflect how well students are prepared for life after high school. This vision has fueled a broader movement to align accountability with readiness, growth, and opportunity.
The draft model aims to redefine the purpose of school grades, shifting the focus from simply evaluating schools to highlighting what matters most: helping every student succeed on their chosen path, something the old system failed to do.
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A Broader, More Personalized Accountability Framework
Indiana's proposed accountability model marks a significant departure from the era of single-score judgment. Instead of solely focusing on test scores, the new model encourages a more holistic assessment: Is the student on track for success?
The draft design shifts readiness assessment earlier, introducing four key checkpoints at approximately Grade 3, Grades 4 through 8, Grade 10, and Grade 12. At each stage, academic achievement is assessed alongside other meaningful indicators of progress. While foundational skills in reading and math remain important, so do school attendance, participation in advanced coursework, and completion of experiences that prepare students for college, careers, or military service.
One of the most notable aspects of the model is its new approach to student growth. The proposed model allows students to contribute positively to a school's rating through various forms of progress. A student might demonstrate they're on track through strong attendance, reading proficiency, or early college coursework, even if a single test score fails to capture the full picture.
By recognizing multiple pathways to success, this broader and more personalized approach reframes how student achievement is understood. It allows educators to focus on supporting growth over time, rather than solely on performance on a single testing day. The model aims to prioritize what genuinely matters in learning, rather than what is simply easiest to measure.
Connecting the Dots: Accountability, Diplomas, and GPS
Changes to Indiana's accountability model are part of a larger, more strategic effort to redesign how the state prepares and supports students from kindergarten through graduation. These shifts are evident in two major initiatives: the Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) dashboard and Indiana's newly adopted high school diploma structure.
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These initiatives share a common vision: Readiness is no longer viewed as a single destination but as a combination of academic mastery, essential skills, and real-world experiences. The GPS framework outlines five characteristics identified by Hoosiers as critical to long-term success:
- Academic Mastery
- Career and Postsecondary Readiness
- Communication and Collaboration
- Work Ethic
- Civic, Financial, and Digital Literacy
These qualities are now embedded in how schools will be evaluated under the new accountability model.
The redesigned high school diploma builds on this vision. Starting with the Class of 2029, students will earn a standard diploma, which they can personalize through pathways and seals aligned to their postsecondary goals. Students preparing for college, the workforce, or military service will have the opportunity to earn an Enrollment, Employment, or Enlistment seal. Each seal offers two levels of distinction: a standard Honors seal for students who meet key readiness benchmarks and an Honors Plus seal for those who exceed expectations through more rigorous coursework or advanced achievement. These seals provide meaningful recognition of student accomplishments and signal preparation for life beyond high school.
The accountability model recognizes these experiences. Schools will receive credit when students complete work-based learning, earn college credit, or obtain a credential of value before graduation. These elements are integrated into the system that shapes how school performance is measured.
Indiana is working toward a more coherent structure. The GPS dashboard defines what matters. The diploma provides students with a framework for pursuing those priorities. The accountability model ensures that schools are recognized for supporting them. Together, these three components form a coordinated system focused on preparing students for success after graduation.
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Initial Reactions and Future Considerations
Indiana's new accountability model draft has generated early momentum. The direction itself has gained traction across the education community.
Early responses from education leaders reflect cautious optimism. Many see promise in the broader framework, particularly in how it moves beyond narrow measures to acknowledge the full range of student experiences. The model's potential to provide a more meaningful view of school performance, one that accounts for academic growth as well as preparation for life beyond graduation, has garnered attention.
Decisions around the model's technical structure are still ahead. Point values, performance weights, and key definitions remain under review. The way those elements come together, shaped by public input and thoughtful design, will determine whether the final version fulfills its promise to be a genuine driver of excellence for all students.
The Opportunity for Meaningful Dialogue
As Indiana works to finalize its new accountability system by the end of 2025, public input is crucial. The draft framework offers a strong foundation, but its evolution will depend on the quality and focus of the conversations that take place.
Some key questions to consider include:
- How can we ensure that every school, regardless of size, location, or resources, can offer the types of experiences that will "count" in the new system?
- How might the A to F letter grade format influence school transfer patterns? What supports will exist for schools that serve students with the most complex needs?
- Can the model offer clarity for families without oversimplifying the story of student learning?
- Beyond identifying schools in need of improvement, how will the state help them grow?
- As Indiana continues refining the point model, what balance will be struck between fairness and ambition?
These questions are intended to spark honest, constructive dialogue. The current draft represents a more thoughtful approach than previous systems. The focus should now be on shaping its next phase through intention, care, and a shared commitment to ensuring that every student in Indiana is counted, supported, and recognized.
Challenges and Concerns
Despite the potential benefits of the new accountability model, several challenges and concerns have been raised by stakeholders.
One major concern is the potential for the new framework to dilute student assessments and grades. Attorney General Todd Rokita has argued that the emphasis on high school diploma seals and workforce-oriented measures could overshadow academic instruction. He also points out that SAT proficiency is not required as part of the Academic Mastery Metric for grade 12 but is treated as an optional Student Success Indicator.
Rokita has also raised concerns about how the proposal treats elementary and middle school accountability, as well as the lack of modeling to test how the proposed system would operate in practice. He also criticizes the board's public comment structure and responses, arguing that the public has not been given a meaningful chance to comment.
Concerns have also been raised about the potential for the new system to exacerbate existing inequities. The proposed "menu" of success indicators varies substantially in terms of rigor, expectations, and objectivity. This could lead to schools prioritizing certain outcomes for some students while neglecting others, potentially widening opportunity gaps for vulnerable student populations.
The lack of accountability for how schools support specific groups of students, including students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, students with disabilities, and English learners, is also a major concern. The performance of these groups does not influence school letter grades, nor do the draft regulations describe how individual group data will affect school identification for support.
Another concern is the potential for the conflation of academic achievement and growth to make it difficult to understand what school letter grades actually say about school quality, even at the student level. Students with vastly different outcomes can earn the same score for a school, making it harder for system leaders to determine where schools and districts need to target resources and support.
The Board's Response
In response to these concerns, the State Board of Education has defended its proposed accountability rule, arguing that it falls squarely within its legal authority and constitutional obligations. The board believes it meets these requirements by grounding the accountability framework in statute and emphasizing performance on the statewide assessment as the primary means of assessing school improvement throughout the state.
The board also rejects the characterization that the model treats different types of instruction or knowledge as equivalent, arguing that there is no determination of "equal to one another" as much as there is a longitudinal analysis that suggests each success indicator included in the model has an impact on a student's likelihood for postsecondary success.
On testing and diploma seals, the board argues that the proposal satisfies statutory requirements and that the decision to make the diploma seals a key outcome clearly "prioritizes" that indicator as required.
The Path Forward
Despite the challenges and concerns, the new accountability model represents a significant step forward in Indiana's efforts to improve education. The collaborative and iterative process to refocus the future of K-12 accountability in Indiana is ongoing, with the launch of a second round of stakeholder feedback.
As the rulemaking process moves forward, it will be essential to address the concerns raised by stakeholders and to ensure that the final model is fair, equitable, and effective. It will also be important to develop and execute a robust communication plan that clearly explains the various aspects of the model to school and district leaders, families, and communities.
IDOE will also need to monitor district and school results carefully, as well as issue guidance and provide technical assistance to its district and school leaders, to prevent unintended consequences if the new A-F framework is adopted â in particular, to prevent gaming the point-based system to systematically steer certain groups of students, such as students with disabilities or students from low-income backgrounds, toward success measures that are perceived as less rigorous than others.
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