Indiana earns national award for Innovation in Education

The State of Indiana was recently honored with the 2025 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation, a national award recognizing Indiana’s historic investments and advancements in literacy, as well as the development of an innovative, longitudinal data system known as the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) dashboard. The Frank Newman Award for State Innovation is presented by Education Commission of the States (ECS). This national nonprofit connects state policymakers and supports education policymaking with members in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

“Indiana is a humble state…we work together to identify challenges, then put our heads down and get to work,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “We often don’t take a moment to acknowledge the progress; we just keep on pushing to improve. Accepting this award is a tribute to the educators, parents and families, community partners, and many others, who relentlessly pursue better outcomes for Indiana students. From small, local communities to the Statehouse, our focus is and must remain on moving the needle for Indiana students. In many respects, we’re just getting started, and we are excited for the journey ahead. By listening, learning, and working together, we will keep improving.”

In 2022, the State of Indiana partnered with Lilly Endowment, Inc. to make a historic investment in literacy ($170 million), focused on science of reading. This investment enabled the Indiana Department of Education to implement several comprehensive, strategic solutions designed to help more students learn to read. Literacy rates have increased for three consecutive years, including the most significant single-year increase ever recorded in 2024. Earlier this year, Indiana students also jumped to sixth in the nation in reading according to results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) rankings. This is the highest Indiana has ever ranked in fourth-grade reading, which reaffirms that the time and resources invested by educators, parents and families, community partners, and many others are paying off for students.

In addition to Indiana’s literacy investments, the Frank Newman Award for State Innovation recognized the development of Indiana GPS. This innovative online dashboard displays a variety of indicators important to students, employers, and communities. This learner-centered, future-focused dashboard displays how students are building the necessary knowledge and skills—in all grades and all schools. This includes foundational knowledge, such as third-grade literacy and growth in sixth-grade math skills. By combining data from K-12 institutions, higher education, and the workforce, Indiana is also tracking longitudinal outcomes, such as median income for a graduating class of students. Indiana GPS is the result of over a year of stakeholder engagement and continues to evolve and improve over time.

Presented by ECS, the Frank Newman Award for State Innovation is given annually to one state or territory in recognition of:

• Education improvement efforts that are replicable and hold valuable lessons for other states.
• Bold and courageous policies, including existing approaches, with evidence of significant impact on student achievement in the state; and/or
• Policies or programs that have bipartisan, broad-based support.

Established in 1998, this is the first time that the State of Indiana has received the Frank Newman Award for State Innovation.

The official announcement from ECS can be found here. To learn more about how Indiana is transforming K-12 education, click here.