Accountability and the future of Indiana's assessment system will be major priorities during the 2016 legislative session, as issues with the ISTEP+ continue to surface.

Indiana has the seventh-highest high school graduation rate in the country. The Education Department said Tuesday that the rate for the 2013-14 school year was 87.9 percent.

Indianapolis Public Schools will seek a change to state law in the 2016 General Assembly session that would reduce requirements for professionals to become teachers. District leaders also want to tweak recently passed laws that created innovation network schools.

More concrete and specific designs for reversing Indiana's teacher shortage are emerging ahead of the legislative session.

In preliminary numbers compiled by State Board of Education staff, 17 percent of Indiana's K-12 schools will be considered failing under the state's A-F accountability system. Last year, 4 percent of schools were considered failing.

More state control of public schools is on the horizon.

State leaders say they recognize the difficulties presented by changing standardized tests, and that they are taking the necessary steps to help make the transition go more smoothly.

Indiana will request a five year extension for when high school teachers are required to hold a master's degree and additional college credits so they can teach dual credit courses.

The Indianapolis Public Schools Board has approved an "innovation and autonomy framework" that will completely reshape the operations of all schools starting next year by decentralizing power. IPS Superintendent Lewis Ferebee has characterized it as "reinventing" the district.