Hamilton Southeastern Schools students led comparable districts in third-grade reading and set district records for Advanced Placement success, administrators told the HSE Board of School Trustees on Wednesday night.
Assistant Superintendent of Foundational Learning Dr. Danielle Fetters-Thompson and Jason Urban, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools, presented the district’s annual academic report. It covered state reading and math tests, the SAT and AP exams.
Reading
HSE posted a 97.3% pass rate on IREAD-3, Indiana’s foundational literacy test. That rate was the highest among similar districts. The district defines those as the other Hoosier Crossroads Conference schools plus Carmel and Center Grove.
HSE tested 1,426 students, more than any other district in Indiana. Among districts testing more than 558 students, HSE had the highest pass rate in the state. Eleven of the district’s 13 elementary schools met or exceeded the state’s 95% goal, and three schools had a 100% pass rate.
Ten of 11 student demographic groups improved over last year, and every group passed at 90% or higher. Black students passed at 95.5% and special education students at 86%, each the highest among comparable districts. The pass rate for multiracial students dipped three-tenths of a percentage point, and Fetters-Thompson said the district will address that decline.
Students first take IREAD in second grade. This year, 83% of HSE second-graders passed. That lets teachers focus interventions on the remaining students from the first day of third grade.
“That culture in our buildings has become one of: all students will become proficient readers,” Fetters-Thompson said.
ILEARN
Indiana redesigned ILEARN for 2025-26. Students now take three checkpoint tests during the year, followed by a shorter spring assessment. Because the test changed, the Indiana Department of Education has said results should not be compared with prior years.
HSE students in grades 3-8 were 66.4% proficient in English/language arts and 68.1% proficient in math. Both figures were more than 24 percentage points above the state averages. Seventh- and eighth-graders ranked first in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference in three of four content areas.
Among comparable districts, HSE placed third, behind two districts. “We’ve got some work to do,” Fetters-Thompson said.
Board member Sarah Parks Reese asked her to stress that those percentages are not letter grades. Fetters-Thompson said ILEARN closely tracks the National Assessment of Educational Progress, one of the most demanding tests in the country.
SAT and AP
All Indiana juniors take the SAT. HSE ranked third among comparable districts and moved up one spot in evidence-based reading and writing. Urban pointed to strong growth at Hamilton Southeastern High School.
Urban called it a “banner year” for AP. At Fishers High School, 58% of last year’s graduates earned at least one AP score of 3 or higher, a district record. A score of 3 typically earns college credit. Hamilton Southeastern High School posted a record 89.3% AP success rate.
Across the district, the number of AP exams taken rose 25% from 2025. The number of students taking exams rose 14%, and the number of qualifying scores rose 26%. Urban said success rates have climbed each year even as the district has opened AP courses to more students.
AP Precalculus was offered for the first time last year. It produced more exams than any other AP course and a 98% success rate.
“Strong results are worth celebrating, but they also show us where we can continue to improve,” Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley said in a statement released during the meeting.