2026 State Test Score Results Data Series
The 2026 State Test Score Results Data Series is published by the Education Data Center and is designed to provide updates on 2026 state assessment data.
What to expect: Our goal is to provide high-level insights on ELA and math state summative assessment outcomes for students in grades 3-8. We will publish overviews as State Education Agencies (SEAs) publicly release assessment results and/or as we receive aggregate results via public records requests.
For additional information about each state assessment, please see the end of this post. All available 2026 assessment data used for this data series will be published by the EDC in December.
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Let us know at info@eddatacenter.org!
Trends Over Time
On Friday (Sep 25), the Indiana Department of Education released the 2026 school- and district-level results of the state’s standardized ELA and math assessment for Grades 3-8; state-level results were released in August. This year marks a new baseline for comparing ELA and math results, as the state transitioned to an ILEARN Through-Year Assessment. The new assessment consists of three checkpoints during the year and a shortened end-of-year test built on the 2023 Indiana Academic Standards and measured by new cut scores. According to IDOE, “these scores represent a new baseline for Indiana and cannot be compared to previous years” (IDOE press release, August 11, 2026).
The 2026 change represents the second re-set in eight years. The state ended the ISTEP+ in 2018, and administered the new ILEARN from 2019-2025. Post-pandemic, rates in math fell more than in ELA, as with most states. Math rates have climbed in all but one year since 2021, while ELA largely stagnated between 2021-2025, not moving up or down more than 1 point.
In 2026, 42% of students in Grades 3-8 were proficient in ELA, compared to 42.7% in math. Despite the new scale scores, these rates are close to rates in 2025 (40.6% in ELA and 42.1% in math). The new cut scores did change the share of students in each achievement level, however, even though the overall proficiency levels do not differ substantially. For example, in ELA, the share of students in the lowest achievement level changed from 37% in 2025 to 19% in 2026, and from 36% to 29% in math. With the new cut scores in 2026, we see a higher proportion of students in Levels 2 and 3 in both ELA and math, compared to prior years. Boys outperform girls in math by about 6 percentage points (45.6% to 39.7%), while girls outperform boys in ELA by 8 points (46.1% to 38.1%).
A brief look at outcomes by subject:
ELA: Approximately 42.0% of students in Grades 3-8 reached proficiency on the new assessment. Proficiency rates range from 40.8% (Grade 3) to 44.0% (Grade 8). Carmel Clay led ELA performance in the state (70.8%), followed by Brownsburg (70.3%) and North West Hendricks (69.5%).
Math: Approximately 42.7% of students in Grades 3-8 reached proficiency in 2026. Just over half of students are proficient in Grades 3 and 4 (52%), with proficiency declining by grade level through Grade 8 (34%). West Lafayette led the state in math performance (72.3%), along with Carmel Clay (71.8%) and Brownsburg (71.0%).
Results by Achievement Level
A Closer Look at 2026
State Assessment Background
Assessment Name: ISTEP+ (2015-2018); ILEARN (2019-2025); ILEARN Through-Year Assessment (2026)
Additional Information:
General assessment resources can be found here: https://www.in.gov/doe/students/assessment/ilearn/
Assessment results are available from the Indiana Department of Education here: https://www.in.gov/doe/it/data-center-and-reports/
The 2026 state press release for the state-level results can be found here: https://www.in.gov/doe/about/news/Press-Releases/Indiana%20Literacy%20Rates%20Increase%20for%20Fifth%20Consecutive%20Year.pdf
Data presented here are specific to this state’s assessment and are not comparable to assessments administered by other states. For questions, please reach out to info@eddatacenter.org.
Please subscribe or share with a friend or colleague who may be interested in this data!