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IDOE proposes student-centered K–12 accountability framework; board raises concerns about indicators and incentives
Summary
The Indiana Department of Education presented a recommended accountability framework that would shift to student-centered measures, add skill-development indicators and create a 10th‑grade checkpoint; State Board members welcomed the direction but pressed for clearer 'on‑track' metrics, guardrails against 'seal chasing' and industry-aligned measures.
Ron Sandin, deputy chief for quality education at the Indiana Department of Education, presented a recommended framework on Jan. 15 to reshape Indiana’s K–12 accountability system around student-level measures, timelier checkpoints and a greater emphasis on skill development as a complement to academic mastery.
The department framed the proposal as a recommended framework to solicit public and board input before any final model or formal rulemaking. Sandin told the State Board the model builds on the Indiana GPS student profile and recent diploma-rule changes and rests on four design priorities: being student-centered, increasing transparency, providing actionable feedback to schools and grounding decisions in longitudinal data and national research.
Board members said those priorities reflect important shifts but pressed the department for specifics. Several members supported separating accountability into clearer grade bands — identifying K–3 literacy foundations, a 4–8 focus on building knowledge and a new 10th‑grade checkpoint to give schools earlier, actionable signals — and asked the department to define concrete "on‑track" measures at each stop. "We cannot rely on how things used to be and expect this model to contribute to the vision we have laid out for students in Indiana," Sandin said. "We are operating in a new era of education and therefore we must operate in a new era of accountability." (Ron Sandin, deputy chief for quality education, IDOE.)
A central design question is how to balance traditional academic metrics (for example, ILEARN results and other assessments) with measures of skill development — such as work‑based learning hours, credential completion and diploma seals — without creating universal expectations that do not fit every student's pathway. Sandin said the diploma seals should be elevated as rigorous signals of skill development while the model should preserve multiple pathways. "If a student completes a diploma seal, that is a clear signal of skill development," he said.
Board members raised three recurring concerns:
- Defining leading versus lagging indicators and classroom-relevant signals. "These test scores or these work‑based learning hours are lagging indicators," one member said; the board urged the department to identify earlier predictors that allow schools to act sooner.
- Avoiding perverse incentives such as "seal chasing" and gaming that could disadvantage students not on a particular pathway. Byron said he supports seals but cautioned against making them the only route to success.
- Ensuring equity and validity: members warned the system must not let socioeconomic factors determine grades and asked for pressure‑testing to avoid false signals of attainment.
Members also discussed practical measures. The department noted that more than 90% of students currently take the PSAT on a school day in 10th grade; Sandin suggested the PSAT could be considered as an actionable academic indicator that would not add new statewide testing mandates. Several board members urged IDOE to seek employer and higher‑education input about which credentials and skills should be prioritized so indicators match real postsecondary expectations.
The board did not take any formal votes on the framework at this meeting. The department said the presentation opens a public discussion and outlined next steps: additional stakeholder engagement, continued longitudinal analysis and iterative refinement of a final model to bring back to the board for review. "This is the start of the public discussion," Sandin said; the department requested board feedback and pledged to coordinate further outreach.
Background: Chair Katie Jenner also used the opening remarks to spotlight two Indiana recipients of the Milken Educator Award and to note that, by statute, the department announced a record-high statewide graduation rate for the class of 2024 (reported as 92.3% in the board’s Dec. 31 announcement). The meeting adjourned following board discussion.
Next steps: IDOE will continue stakeholder engagement and data analysis before presenting a draft final model to the board; the department asked the public to provide feedback during the forthcoming formal comment processes.
