In-Person Instruction Predominant, Provided Strongest Setting for Student Performance
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Holly Lawson
Deputy Director of Communications
(317) 232-0536
hlawson2@doe.in.gov
INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) today presented statewide instructional mode data for the 2020-2021 school year. The data reflects that during the previous school year, the majority of Indiana schools conducted in-person instruction for most Hoosier students. Performance in both English/language arts and mathematics was strongest among students who received primarily in-person instruction.
“While we have spoken generally about our Indiana data showing the majority of schools being in-person last year, today we gained new insight and analysis on individual student-level data which puts an exclamation point behind why in-person instruction is so valuable for students,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “Educators across the state continue to lead this important work, and yet in order to overcome impacts of the pandemic, schools cannot do this alone. This requires all of us working together -- community partners, schools, and families -- to keep our focus on growth and improved outcomes for our Hoosier students.”
According to the statewide data, nearly 50 percent of Indiana schools had greater than 90 percent of students receiving in-person instruction all school year. Meanwhile, nearly 80 percent of schools had greater than 60 percent of students in person all year.
When compared with statewide data from Indiana’s spring ILEARN assessment, the data reflects that student performance is the strongest when students are learning in the classroom full-time.
Across fifth grade through eighth grade, students receiving primarily in-person instruction earned a median student-growth percentage of 42 in English/language arts, compared with a median student-growth percentage of 33 for students receiving primarily virtual instruction, illustrating that students learning in person achieved greater learning growth than their virtual learning peers. The trend continued in mathematics, with a median student-growth percentage of 36 for students receiving primarily in-person instruction, compared to a median student-growth percentage of 18 for students receiving primarily virtual instruction.
These results are compounded by data indicating that Indiana’s racially and ethnically diverse students, a student population that has historically experienced significant growth gaps, were more likely to be learning in a virtual or hybrid setting.
“We learned last month through our National Center for Assessment partnership that Indiana’s racially and ethnically diverse students experienced greater declines in learning growth during the pandemic, and today, we learned that these students were also more likely to have received hybrid or virtual instruction during the last school year,” said Jenner. “While continued analysis needs to be done, this further presents a sense of urgency that all students must have access to in-person instruction.”
The full presentation of this data is available here.