Indiana
How did Indiana students do on NAEP reading and math tests?
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Indiana students fared slightly better on “the nation’s report card” in 2024 compared to 2022 as the state continues to slowly recover from the effects of the pandemic.
But across the state and nation, scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress — or NAEP — remain below 2019 levels, raising alarm bells about students’ reading and math skills after the pandemic. Nationally, there is also a growing gap between the highest- and lowest-performing students on NAEP.
Scores released Wednesday show Indiana students’ performance in both math and reading ticked up by between 1 and 3 percentage points in 2024.
In reading, around 34% of fourth graders and 33% of eighth graders were proficient or better in reading in 2024, up from 33% and 31%, respectively, in 2022.
In math, around 43% of fourth graders and 31% of eighth graders scored proficient or better in 2024, compared with 40% and 30%, respectively, in 2022.
Indiana’s performance across both subjects is in line with most other states, which saw no statistically significant score improvements compared to 2022. Nationally, reading scores have continued to drop in a trend that began before the pandemic in 2019. In math, some states made notable improvements, but Indiana was not among them.
Still, Indiana’s average scores remain above national averages. And while national averages have declined in reading, Indiana students’ scores rose this year.
Another difference between Indiana and national averages concerns the highest- and lowest-performing students. Indiana fourth graders in the bottom quartile of scores improved their performance over 2022. But nationally, fourth graders in the bottom quartile of reading scores declined the most from 2022.
However, the gap in eighth grade reading scores between Indiana’s lowest- and highest-performing students grew from 2022 to 2024.
Across demographic groups, one of the state’s most significant jumps in scores was for Black fourth grade students, whose reading scores rose from 194 in 2022 to 201 in 2024 — one point higher than their 2019 scores. Hispanic fourth grade students have also matched 2019 scores in reading for the demographic.
No other student group in Indiana matched its 2019 performance in either subject in 2024.
Nationwide, it was rare for any state to exceed its 2019 NAEP scores in either subject — just Alabama scored higher in fourth grade math, and only Louisiana scored higher in fourth grade reading.
“NAEP has reported declines in reading achievement consistently since 2019, and the continued declines since the pandemic suggest we’re facing complex challenges that cannot be fully explained by the impact of COVID-19,” said National Center for Education Statistics Associate Commissioner Daniel McGrath in a press release.
NAEP scores, learning affected by student absenteeism
NAEP scores don’t indicate the efficacy of any single policy or practice. But their release is likely to trigger debates about how states have responded to the academic effects of the pandemic.
Since 2022, Indiana has passed several laws aimed at aligning the state’s early literacy instruction with a set of practices known as the science of reading.
Schools and teacher training programs are now required to use material based on the science of reading. And beginning this year, students who don’t pass the the third grade reading test — the IREAD-3 — will be be required to repeat third grade, with only a few exceptions.
Now Indiana lawmakers may turn their attention to math. A bill under consideration in the 2025 legislative session would change teacher preparation programs in regards to math instruction, as well as require math proficiency screeners and interventions for younger students.
The state has also invested state and federal funds in tutoring and summer school programs, and will likely seek help from lawmakers writing the state budget to keep those initiatives funded after the expiration of federal aid.
Other initiatives from lawmakers include addressing student absenteeism, which has declined nationally since 2022 but remains higher than in 2019. In a media call Tuesday, Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics Peggy Carr pointed to absenteeism as a factor in students’ scores.
“If students aren’t in school, they can’t learn,” Carr said.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
(The REPORTER) — The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 10, regarding a proposed corridor improvement project on State Road 32 in Hamilton County.
The hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to interact with the project team, review the features of the proposed roundabout project, and provide official public comment. Project documents are available for review at improvetomove32.com.
The project area is between East Street in Westfield and River Road in Noblesville. The proposed project includes adding lanes to accommodate two lanes in each direction, removing all traffic signals within the project limits, and constructing roundabouts at the following intersections with SR 32:
- Carey Road/Grassy Branch Road
- Gunther Boulevard
- Shady Nook Road
- Moontown Road/Gray Road
- Pebble Brook Boulevard
- Hazel Dell Road/Little Chicago Road
- Mill Creek Road
The hearing will take place at Prairie Waters Event Center, 4180 Westfield Road, Westfield. Doors will open at 5 p.m. to allow the public to view displays and talk with the project team. A presentation will be given at 5:30 p.m., with a public comment session held directly after. INDOT is offering livestreams of all public meetings and hearings. You must register here in order to participate in the livestream. Livestream audience comments will only be accepted in written electronic form, not verbally. A recording of the livestream presentation will be posted on the project webpage and INDOT YouTube page after the hearing and will be available for at least 90 days.
All verbal statements recorded during the public hearing and all written comments submitted prior to, during and for a period of two weeks following the hearing date, will be evaluated, considered, and addressed in subsequent environmental documentation.
Written comments may be submitted within the comment period to Nick Batta, CMT, 8790 Purdue Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268; or sent via email to SR32HamiltonCounty@cmtengr.com.
INDOT respectfully requests comments be submitted by June 26.
A beloved tradition is drawing stitchers, shoppers, and curious newcomers across the region.
If you have ever walked into a quilt shop “just to look,” you already know how that story ends. One minute you are admiring a cheerful stack of fabric with names like sunflower, buttercream, and cardinal red, and the next you are seriously considering whether your house has room for a new table runner, a holiday wall hanging, and perhaps a life-changing bundle of fat quarters. Quilt shops have that effect. They are part treasure hunt, part therapy session, part color explosion, and in Southeastern Indiana, they are also some of the friendliest gathering places around.
That is especially true during the ALL INDIANA SHOP HOP, the statewide sewing and quilting event running through June 30, 2026.
The idea is delightfully simple: visit participating quilt shops, collect passport stamps, pick up thank-you gifts, and become eligible for prizes. The official event even describes it as a quilting version of a bar crawl, only with less late-night regret and more batting, bobbins, and beautiful fabric. There is even a youth passport for ages 8 to 17, which is a nice reminder that quilting is not just a pastime handed down from grandparents. It is also being discovered by a new generation who like making things by hand, repurposing fabric to help the environment, learning skills online, and sharing their creations proudly.
And really, quilting has everything going for it. It is practical, creative, social, and just a little bit magical.
A quilt can be a baby gift, a comfort during a hard season, a graduation present, a family heirloom, or simply a way to make a couch look much more put together than the people sitting on it. Quilters are surgeons with rotary cutters, artists with thread, and storytellers with fabric. They notice pattern, texture, memory, and meaning. Even non-quilters tend to fall under the spell. You do not need to know how to piece a block to appreciate the patience, skill, and imagination it takes to turn small shapes into something that warms both the room and the people in it.
That is one reason local quilt shops matter so much.
Yes, they sell fabric, books, notions, patterns, batting, and tools that can make a beginner feel both excited and slightly underqualified. But they also do something online shopping cannot: they welcome people in. Good quilt shops are places where somebody will help you match prints, explain what on earth a layer cake is, admire your progress, and gently steer you away from a fabric choice you may regret in broad daylight. They are equal parts classroom, clubhouse, and creative headquarters.
Southeastern Indiana is lucky to have several shops that make a Shop Hop route feel less like an errand list and more like a mini road trip with excellent scenery and even better conversation.
In Versailles, The Quilter’s Nook has become a creative quilting and sewing destination with classes, learning opportunities, and plenty of supplies and inspiration for anyone wanting to sharpen their skills or finally start that project they have been thinking about for two years. In Greensburg, Tree City Stitches is known for its premium fabrics, project kits, classes, and welcoming atmosphere, with plenty of samples on display to spark ideas before you even make it to the cutting counter.
In Vevay, Cardinal Quilts offers a deep fabric selection, quilting classes, and longarm services, making it the kind of place where serious quilters can stock up and newcomers can get helpful guidance without a trace of intimidation. And in Madison, L&L Yard Goods has been operating in the same location since 1986, offering quilting essentials, classes, and the sort of steady hometown presence that makes people come back year after year.
Together, these shops help keep quilting visible, vibrant, and local.
They also provide handmade quilts for community projects, children’s hospitals, veterans, and emergency services just like the early quilters did centuries ago.
So if your summer plans could use a little more color, a little more small-town charm,
and maybe a little more excuse to buy fabric you absolutely do not need but definitely deserve, the Shop Hop is calling. Bring a friend, bring your passport, and bring a willingness to be delighted by places where craftsmanship still matters and people still make beautiful things with their hands.
In Southeastern Indiana, quilting is more than a hobby.
It is history from the days of early pioneers, hospitality that warms you, creativity and community all stitched together one square at a time.
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