Plymouth School Board members got a closer look Tuesday at last year’s high school accountability grade. Plymouth High School received a B for the 2016-2017 school year, in the Indiana Department of Education’s A-through-F grading system. Assistant Principal Kyle Coffman explained that grade is determined by several factors.
A big challenge for Plymouth High School was students’ performance on last year’s ISTEP. Coffman said 59.6 percent of last year’s sophomores passed the English portion of the test, which was just under the state average. But only 21.8 percent of Plymouth sophomores passed the Math test. He explained that several Math tests were ruled invalid, after it was learned that students in a number of classrooms may have used calculators on a non-calculator test.
However, Plymouth High School saw some positives in other areas. Coffman said the school was particularly successful when it came to growth in ISTEP scores. It also got good marks for its graduation rate, as well as college and career readiness.
Looking ahead, Coffman said the school has a few plans in place to boost test scores. For English, that means continuing to focus on reading comprehension. Math priorities include linear equations, inequalities, and functions, which Coffman said are weighted heavily on the test.
