Public education in Indiana
| K-12 education in Indiana | |
 | |
| Education facts | |
| State superintendent: Katie Jenner | |
| Number of students: 997,869 | |
| Number of teachers: 58,685 | |
| Teacher/pupil ratio: 1:17 | |
| Number of school districts: 291 | |
| Number of schools: 1,769 | |
| Graduation rate: 87% | |
| Per-pupil spending: $9,566 | |
| See also | |
| Indiana Department of Education • List of school districts in Indiana • Indiana • School boards portal | |
 | |
Public education in the United States Public education in Indiana Glossary of education terms | |
| Note: These statistics are mainly from government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Figures given were the most recent as of October 2022. | |
The Indiana public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2022, Indiana had 997,869 students enrolled in a total of 1,769 schools in 291 school districts. There were 58,685 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. In 2020, Indiana spent on average $9,566 per pupil.[1] The state's graduation rate was 87 percent in the 2018-2019 school year.[2]
Regional comparison
- See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states
The following chart shows how Indiana compares to the national level for the most recent years for which data is available.
| Public education in Indiana | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Schools | Districts | Students | Teachers | Teacher to pupil ratio | Per pupil spending* | |
| Indiana | 1,769 | 291 | 997,869 | 58,685 | 1:17 | $9,566 | |
| United States | 90,323 | 13,194 | 47,755,383 | 2,783,705 | 1:16 | $10,935 | |
| *Per pupil spending data reflects information reported for fiscal year 2020. Sources: Education statistics in the United States | |||||||
Academic performance
The sections below do not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.
| Education terms |
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| For more information on education policy terms, see this article. |
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NAEP scores
- See also: NAEP scores by state
The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The chart below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013.[3]
| Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math - Grade 4 | Math - Grade 8 | Reading - Grade 4 | Reading - Grade 8 | |
| Indiana | 52% | 38% | 38% | 35% |
| Illinois | 39% | 36% | 34% | 36% |
| Michigan | 37% | 30% | 31% | 33% |
| Ohio | 48% | 40% | 37% | 39% |
| U.S. averages | 41% | 34% | 34% | 34% |
| Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables" | ||||
Graduation, ACT and SAT scores
The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Indiana and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.[3][4][5]
In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.[6]
Indiana schools reported a graduation rate of 87 percent during the 2012-2013 school year. In Indiana, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning an average SAT score of 1470.
| Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Graduation rate, 2013 | Average ACT composite, 2013 | Average SAT composite, 2013 | ||||
| Percent | Quintile ranking** | Score | Participation rate | Score | Participation rate | ||
| Indiana | 87% | First | 21.7 | 38% | 1470 | 70% | |
| Illinois | 83.2% | Third | 20.6 | 100% | 1807 | 5% | |
| Michigan | 77% | Fourth | 19.9 | 100% | 1782 | 4% | |
| Ohio | 82.2% | Third | 21.8 | 72% | 1635 | 17% | |
| United States | 81.4% | 20.9 | 54% | 1498 | 50% | ||
| **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013" | |||||||
Dropout rate
- See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states
The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Indiana was lower than the national average at 1.8 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 2.1 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.[7]
Educational choice options
- See also: School choice in Indiana
As of June 2015, school choice options in Indiana included charter schools, a school voucher program, tax credits, and intra-district and inter-district enrollment policies.
Developments
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which concerned whether the government can exclude religious institutions from student-aid programs. The case related to Article X, Section 6 of the Montana Constitution, also known as Montana’s Blaine Amendment.[8]
In its 5-4 opinion, the court held that the application of Article X, Section 6 violated the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. The majority held Article X, Section 6 barred religious schools and parents who wished to send their children to those schools from receiving public benefits because of the religious character of the school.[9]
The case addressed the tension between the free exercise and Establishment clauses of the U.S. Constitution—where one guarantees the right of individuals' free exercise of religion and the other guarantees that the state won't establish a religion—and the intersections of state constitutions with state law and with the U.S. Constitution.
Indiana is one of the states with a Blaine Amendment.
Education funding and expenditures
- See also: Indiana state budget and finances
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), states spent an average of 19.8 percent of their total budgets on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. In addition, the United States Census Bureau found that approximately 45.6 percent of the country's school system revenue came from state sources, while about 45.3 percent came from local sources. The remaining portion of school system revenue came from federal sources.[10][11]
Indiana spent approximately 30.8 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. The state school systems' revenue came primarily from state funds.
| Comparison of financial figures for school systems, fiscal year 2013 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Percentage of budget | Per pupil spending | Revenue sources | ||||
| Percent federal funds | Percent state funds | Percent local funds | |||||
| Indiana | 30.8% | $9,566 | 8.2% | 62.6% | 29.2% | ||
| Illinois | 13.3% | $12,288 | 7.9% | 35.4% | 56.8% | ||
| Michigan | 27.2% | $10,948 | 9.4% | 56.9% | 33.7% | ||
| Ohio | 17% | $11,197 | 7.9% | 41.4% | 50.7% | ||
| United States | 19.8% | $10,700 | 9.1% | 45.6% | 45.3% | ||
| Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report" (Table 8). U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports" (Table 5 and Table 8). | |||||||
Revenue breakdowns
- See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S. to compare all states.
According to the United States Census Bureau, public school system revenues totaled approximately $598 billion in fiscal year 2013.[11]
In Indiana, the primary source of school system revenue was state funding, at $7.5 billion.
| Revenues by source, fiscal year 2013 (amounts in thousands) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Federal revenue | State revenue | Local revenue | Total revenue |
| Indiana | $980,013 | $7,503,451 | $3,505,091 | $11,988,555 |
| Illinois | $2,311,235 | $10,392,455 | $16,688,203 | $29,391,893 |
| Michigan | $1,636,904 | $9,882,361 | $5,861,099 | $17,380,364 |
| Ohio | $1,721,213 | $8,990,516 | $11,019,419 | $21,731,148 |
| United States | $54,367,305 | $272,916,892 | $270,645,402 | $597,929,599 |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports" (Table 1) | ||||
Expenditure breakdowns
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures totaled approximately $602 billion in fiscal year 2012.[12]
Public education expenditures in Indiana totaled approximately $11.4 billion in fiscal year 2012.
| Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2012 (amounts in thousands) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | General expenditures | Capital outlay | Other | Total expenditures |
| Indiana | $9,978,491 | $943,637 | $490,288 | $11,412,416 |
| Illinois | $25,012,915 | $2,169,706 | $1,014,430 | $28,197,052 |
| Michigan | $16,485,178 | $1,376,616 | $1,195,005 | $19,056,799 |
| Ohio | $19,701,810 | $2,467,639 | $1,016,716 | $23,186,166 |
| United States | $527,096,473 | $48,773,386 | $25,897,123 | $601,766,981 |
| Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2011–12 (Fiscal Year 2012)" (Table 5) | ||||
Personnel salaries
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Indiana, the average salary decreased by 10 percent.[14]
| Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | 2009-2010 | 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | Percent difference | |
| Indiana | $57,192 | $53,357 | $51,357 | $51,456 | -10% |
| Illinois | $63,527 | $66,264 | $58,595 | $59,113 | -6.9% |
| Michigan | $67,023 | $61,867 | $62,585 | $61,560 | -8.2% |
| Ohio | $56,626 | $59,732 | $57,659 | $58,092 | 2.6% |
| United States | $57,133 | $58,925 | $56,340 | $56,383 | -1.3% |
| **"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state." | |||||
Studies and reports
Quality Counts 2014
- See also: Education Week survey
Education Week, a publication that reports on many education issues throughout the country, began using an evaluation system in 1997 to grade each state on various elements of education performance. This system, called Quality Counts, uses official data on performance from each state to generate report cards for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report card in 2014 uses six different categories:
- Chance for success
- K-12 achievement
- Standards, assessments and accountability
- The teaching profession
- School finance
- Transitions and alignment
Each of these six categories had a number of other elements that received individual scores. Those scores were then averaged and used to determine the final score in each category. Every state received two types of scores for each of the six major categories: A numerical score out of 100 and a letter grade based on that score. Education Week used the score for the first category, "chance for success," as the value for ranking each state and the District of Columbia. The average grade received in the entire country was 77.3, or a C+ average. The country's highest average score was in the category of "standards, assessments and accountability" at 85.3, or a B average. The lowest average score was in "K-12 achievement", at 70.2, or a C- average.
Indiana received a score of 77.3, or a C+ average in the "chance for success" category. This was equal to the national average. The state's highest score was in "standards, assessments and accountability" at 97.8, or an A average. The lowest score was in "the teaching profession" at 63.1, or a D average. Indiana had the highest score in "standards, assessments and accountability" in the country. The chart below displays the scores of Indiana and its surrounding states.[15]
Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.
| Public education report cards, 2014 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Chance for success | K-12 achievement | Standards, assessments and accountability | The teaching profession | School finance | Transitions and alignment |
| Indiana | 77.3 (C+) | 72.8 (C) | 97.8 (A) | 63.1 (D) | 71.6 (C-) | 89.3 (B+) |
| Illinois | 80.2 (B-) | 69.6 (C-) | 91.0 (A-) | 67.9 (D+) | 76.8 (C+) | 75.0 (C) |
| Michigan | 75.3 (C) | 63.8 (D) | 91.6 (A-) | 74.8 (C) | 74.9 (C) | 82.1 (B-) |
| Ohio | 78.6 (C+) | 71.3 (C-) | 96.1 (A) | 76.4 (C) | 77.2 (C+) | 78.6 (C+) |
| United States | 77.3 (C+) | 70.2 (C-) | 85.3 (B) | 72.5 (C) | 75.5 (C) | 81.1 (B-) |
| Source: Education Week, "Quality Counts 2014" A full discussion of how these numbers were generated can be found here. | ||||||
State Budget Solutions education study
State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.
School districts
- See also: School board elections portal
District types
School districts in Indiana are divided into eight different types: school townships, school cities and towns, township school corporations, county school corporations, consolidated school corporations, metropolitan school districts, community school corporations and united school corporations. All types of school districts in Indiana are considered by Indiana law to be school corporations.[16]
School board composition
Board members are generally elected by residents of the school district, although there are a few districts whose boards are appointed. School boards in Indiana usually consist of five to seven members that serve four-year terms. According to Indiana state law, the number of members should consist of a number of members equal to the number of township schools under the administration of the county superintendent.[17] Elections are held in even-numbered election years in November.[18]
Term limits
Indiana does not impose statewide term limits on school board members.[19]
Elections
- See also: Indiana school board elections, 2025
No Indiana school districts within Ballotpedia's coverage scope are holding school board elections in 2025.
Our coverage scope for local elections continues to grow, and you can use Ballotpedia's sample ballot tool to see what school board elections we are covering in your area.
Path to the ballot
A candidate for a school board office must file a statement of economic interest and petition of nomination. In a metropolitan school corporation, the petition must be signed by at least ten registered voters residing in the same board member district as the nominee. In a community school corporation, the petition must be signed by at least ten registered voters residing within the boundaries of the school corporation. Additional petition requirements may be necessary depending on the school corporations.[20]
Campaign finance
Candidates for school board positions must file campaign finance documents with the county election board of the county where the greatest percentage of the school corporation resides. They should then should contact the county election board for information on campaign finance reporting requirements.[20]
Recent legislation
The following is a list of recent education bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Indiana state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
- Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
Education ballot measures
- See also: Education on the ballot and List of Indiana ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked no ballot measures relating to education matters in Indiana.
In the news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Indiana education policy. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Historical public education information in Indiana
- Indiana state budget and finances
- Indiana Department of Education
- List of school districts in Indiana
- School choice in Indiana
- Charter schools in Indiana
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "U.S. School System Current Spending Per Pupil by Region: Fiscal Year 2020," May 18, 2022
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Fast Facts: High school graduation rates," accessed September 28, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT Scores by State 2013," October 10, 2013
- ↑ StudyPoints, "What's a good SAT score or ACT score?" accessed June 7, 2015
- ↑ United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Graduation Rate Data File, School Year 2010-11, Provision Version 1a and School Year 2011-12, Preliminary Version 1a," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue: "Petition for a writ of certiorari," accessed July 3, 2019
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, decided June 30, 2020
- ↑ NASBO, "State Expenditure Report," accessed July 2, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports," accessed July 2, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2011–12 (Fiscal Year 2012)," accessed July 2, 2015
- ↑ Maciver Institute, "REPORT: How much are teachers really paid?" accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 211.60. Estimated average annual salary of teachers in public elementary and secondary schools, by state: Selected years, 1969-70 through 2012-13," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Education Week "Quality Counts 2014," accessed February 19, 2015
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Indiana," accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ Indiana General Assembly, "Organization of School Corporations," accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "Election Calendar," accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ Electronic School, "Survey of the State School Boards Associations on Term Limits for Local Board Members," accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Indiana Secretary of State, "2014 Candidate Guide," accessed July 11, 2014
