State officials give top ratings to more Indiana schools

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - More Indiana schools have received top state ratings under results from last spring's ISTEP standardized exams.

Ratings released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education show 29.5 percent of the state's schools received an A grade for 2016-17, up about 6 percentage points from the previous school year.

The number of schools with B ratings fell about the same amount, while there was little change among lower ratings. About 6 percent of schools were given F grades.

This year's ratings are much more stable than a year ago, when the number of schools receiving A grades fell by half after an overhaul of the ISTEP exam.

State schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick says another major shake-up will come with the state's switch to a new student test replacing ISTEP in 2019.