Indianapolis has 11 school districts, and ILEARN achievement varies between districts.

Statewide ILEARN results for Black students are as follows:

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient All Students	Percent Proficient Black Students
E/LA	3-8	40.7%	19.7%
Math	3-8	40.9%	16.2%
E/LA & math	3-8	30.6%	10.9%
Science	4 & 6	37.6%	13.1%
Social Studies	5	39.1%	15.8%

Compared to 2022 ILEARN data, Black students improved overall in each category. However, the growth was small, ranging from as little as 0.6% to as high as 1.8%. The 1.8% gain was in math.

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	19.1%	19.7%
Math	3-8	14.4%	16.2%
E/LA & math	3-8	9.9%	10.9%
Science	4 & 6	12.8%	13.1%
Social Studies	5	15.2%	15.8%

Often, the conversation about Black achievement centers around white achievement, where Black students are compared to white students. The gap between these groups is commonly referred to as either the achievement or opportunity gap. 

Although race should not be a determining factor in student outcomes and closing the achievement gap is important, it is important to center Black students in conversations about Black student achievement.

Below are the overall data for each Indianapolis school district comparing 2022 Black student achievement to 2023 data. To view other data details, go to https://www.in.gov/doe/it/data-center-and-reports/.

Beech Grove City Schools

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	9.4%	12.2%
Math	3-8	6.3%	9%
E/LA & math	3-8	1.9%	6.4%
Science	4 & 6	9.1%	11.1%
Social Studies	5	11.1%	3.4%

Franklin Township Community School Corporation

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	20.7%	21.5%
Math	3-8	20.2%	21.7%
E/LA & math	3-8	14.8%	14.8%
Science	4 & 6	25.0%	20%
Social Studies	5	23.8%	27.5%

Indianapolis Public Schools

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	11.8%	11.6%
Math	3-8	8.2%	9.7%
E/LA & math	3-8	5.1%	5.4%
Science	4 & 6	7.7%	6.5%
Social Studies	5	7.2%	5.7%

MSD Decatur Township

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	21%	20.7%
Math	3-8	15%	18.4%
E/LA & math	3-8	10.2%	12.6%
Science	4 & 6	14.0%	12.3%
Social Studies	5	12.2%	17.5%

MSD Lawrence Township

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	17.7%	19.5%
Math	3-8	12.3%	13.1%
E/LA & math	3-8	8.3%	8.8%
Science	4 & 6	12.4%	11.5%
Social Studies	5	18.2%	13.5%

MSD Pike Township

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	18.1%	19.2%
Math	3-8	10.9%	12.3%
E/LA & math	3-8	7.4%	8.1%
Science	4 & 6	14.0%	11.1%
Social Studies	5	11.9%	15.6%

MSD Warren Township

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	10.7%	11.5%
Math	3-8	7.3%	9%
E/LA & math	3-8	3.9%	5.2%
Science	4 & 6	6.3%	5.7%
Social Studies	5	3.6%	6.3%

MSD Washington Township

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	21%	18.9%
Math	3-8	12.9%	14.5%
E/LA & math	3-8	8.9%	9.8%
Science	4 & 6	13.9%	14.7%
Social Studies	5	18.8%	19.3%

MSD Wayne Township

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	18%	18.4%
Math	3-8	12.2%	13.9%
E/LA & math	3-8	8.4%	9.2%
Science	4 & 6	12.0%	10.7%
Social Studies	5	16.8%	20.5%

Perry Township Schools

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	19.1%	18.7%
Math	3-8	16%	17.1%
E/LA & math	3-8	9.8%	10.3%
Science	4 & 6	43.8%	10.3%
Social Studies	5	10.5%	15.9%

School Town of Speedway 

Subject	Grades	Percent Proficient Black Students 2022	Percent Proficient Black Students 2023
E/LA	3-8	43.4%	49.5%
Math	3-8	43.4%	44.2%
E/LA & math	3-8	35.1%	38%
Science	4 & 6	35.4%	42.5%
Social Studies	5	43.8%	39.4%

From the data, here are some important facts to note:

• No Indy school district saw growth in all five categories listed above for Black students.
• 6 of the 11 school districts saw growth or maintained scores in at least four categories from 2022 to 2023 for the Black student group. The list is below, and the category where Black students scored worse in 2023 is listed in parentheses.
  • Beech Grove (social studies)
  • Franklin (science)
  • Pike (science)
  • Warren (science)
  • Wayne (science)
  • Speedway (social studies)
• The highest overall achievement in all categories is in Speedway, and this school district scored way above the average of the statewide results for Black students.
• The school district with the lowest Black achievement is Warren. Black Warren students, overall, scored in the single digits in every category except E/LA. The overall E/LA score was only 11.5%
• Science results dropped for 8 of the school districts: Franklin, IPS, Decatur, Lawrence, Pike, Warren, Wayne, & Speedway.

Great instructors know there are multiple ways to measure student success; however, these scores do not show the brilliance of Black children.

Questions parents, caregivers, and community members should ask are:

• What are other ways school districts measure student achievement? Ask to see the data?
• What are educators doing in Speedway to get significantly higher Black student achievement?
• What can community members do to help with student achievement?
• How is science being taught, what is the science curriculum, and are students receiving proper science education?

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