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December 12, 2007 (INDIANAPOLIS) — Hoosier high schools that have excelled academically while providing good value for Hoosier tax dollars were recognized today by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce with the release of the ninth edition of the Indiana’s Best Buys report.

The study, which was presented by Indiana State University, examined 350 Indiana public high schools and, for the first time, charter schools with the appropriate available data. Using ISTEP+ pass rates, ISTEP+ Pass+ rates, graduation rates, SAT participation rates and average composite scores, and Advanced Placement (AP) passing scores, the Indiana Chamber developed a total school performance index for each school.

This index, called the school’s quality index, was then compared to each school’s total expenditures per pupil to determine “best buy” schools and to each school’s at-risk student/poverty rate, as measured by participation in the federal free/reduced lunch program, to determine “honor roll” schools.

For 2007, 136 public high schools were designated as a “best buy” for giving taxpayers the most value for their money. Two methods determined this honor. A school was named a best buy if it had a quality index above the state median and expenditures below the statewide median of $10,196 per student. The second method was by having a quality index ranking that was 20% higher than the school’s expenditures ranking.

In addition, from the best buy group, 31 high schools were given the “honor roll” distinction for excelling academically despite having at-risk student demographics above the statewide median. For their exemplary efforts, the top three schools from the best buy and honor roll lists were then selected as “head of the class” members.

The 2007 “head of the class” selections are:

• Adams Central High School in Monroe (Adams County);
• Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School in Hope (Bartholomew County);
• Loogootee Jr.-Sr. High School (Martin County);
• Orleans Jr.-Sr. High School (Orange County);
• Signature School in Evansville (Vanderburgh County); and
• Western High School in Russiaville (Howard County).

Indiana Chamber officials recognized the six head of the class honorees during an award presentation at each school; all were first-time recipients of this top designation. Signature School is Indiana’s first charter high school, opening in the fall of 2002.

“The Indiana’s Best Buys report is about celebrating excellence and encouraging improvement. Indiana high schools have the necessary resources to be among the best in the world. However, to be the best, everyone must work at continuously analyzing, reforming and/or maintaining quality instructional programs. Those schools on this list are doing just that, and their communities are reaping the benefits,” states Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar.

Offers Dr. Lloyd W. Benjamin III, president of Indiana State University, “We are pleased to once again be part of the Best Buy program. Education is the key to a brighter future, and providing quality education while being accountable for taxpayer dollars is a core value that all schools – be it at the high school or university level – should embrace. We congratulate all of the schools honored in this report for that achievement.”

All data used in the Best Buys report was collected from Indiana Department of Education databases.

This year, the Indiana Chamber modified how it compared educational costs among schools. Capital projects and debt service funds were examined, along with the money received from the state’s General Fund, to comprise a school’s total expenditures per student. Previous Best Buy reports included General Fund revenues only.

“This adjustment was needed to provide an even more accurate picture of how wisely, or unwisely, tax dollars are being spent. We’ve been seeing an increase in use of these capital projects and debt service funds for standard operating costs – for such things as utilities or loans – and wanted to acknowledge that trend,” says Brinegar. “Furthermore, with the widespread impact of high property tax bills on many Hoosiers, and acknowledging that local schools are a significant benefactor of that revenue, we felt it only appropriate to take a stricter look at school spending.”

This latest edition of Indiana’s Best Buys also includes a broader range of school performance data and a greater emphasis on high school graduation rates for the calculation of each school’s quality index. The addition of AP measures and ISTEP+ Pass+ rates is an attempt to give schools additional recognition for their attention to higher performing students. The additional weight on graduation rates reflects a growing confidence in those rates as the result of recent legislative changes.

To view the report and learn which high schools are among Indiana’s Best Buys, click here.