Cathedral has received another “A” rating yet again from the Indiana Department of Education. This is the ninth year in a row in the nine-year existence of the state program the school has been awarded the top grade of “A.” 

“(I’m) proud, proud of our teachers and educators here,” Principal Mrs. Julie Barthel said. 

When the DOE evaluates a school, the letter grade is based on progress “from year to year growth that individual students show, and that our school shows,” Barthel said. It’s also based on graduation rate, which has been a steady 100%, and other performances and proficiencies, including the English/language arts and math ISTEP, she said.

However, because the state is discontinuing the ISTEP testing, there will be a new system in place that has not been determined yet. “The DOE still hasn’t decided what test. I think it will be replaced with another test. Some of the rumors that we’re reading and hearing on different sources say they could use SAT scores, but that has not been confirmed,” Barthel said. For current 10th graders. though, ISTEP will still be their graduation requirement. 

Barthel plans on celebrating this achievement during the week of March 9. She said, “We will definitely be honoring our teachers at one of our educator meetings because we’ve gotten an ‘A’ every year since they’ve had this rating system. So that’s awesome that we can stay consistent and have that ‘A’ rating,” she said. 

In order to continue to keep an “A,” Barthel said, “We have to look at data and make informed decisions.”

Note: Reporter Ashlynn Bakemeyer contributed to this story.