ISBE report card rates student performance; three area high schools cited as 'exemplary'

A dozen School District 186 designation ratings fell, according to the 2023 Illinois State Board of Education report card released Monday.

The report card provides a snapshot of how students performed in the 2022-23 school year on standardized tests, such as the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, tests in English language arts and mathematics administered to students in third to eighth grades; science assessments taken by fifth- and eighth graders and high school juniors and the SAT college entrance exam taken by juniors.

There are five possible designations: exemplary, commendable, targeted support, comprehensive support and intensive support.

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Four District 186 schools made the intensive support list which includes the lowest performing 5% of schools. The last includes Feitshans and Harvard Park elementary schools (both prekindergarten to fifth grade) and Jefferson and Washington middle schools.

Along with those four schools, Southeast High School, Franklin and Grant middle schools and Jane Addams, Dubois, Fairview, Hazel Dell, and Matheny-Withrow elementary schools, all tumbled in designation.

Overall, 17 schools in the district were rated commendable.

The designations are calculated by assigning each school points for every accountability indicator,such as graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and academic growth, according to ISBE. The indicators are weighted, meaning each indicator is worth a different number of total possible points.

The intensive support designation is new this year, said Jackie Matthews, the executive director for communications for ISBE.

If a school that was identified for comprehensive support in 2018 remains in the lowest-performing 5% in 2023, Matthews said, federal law requires that the school receive more intensive support and is subject to more rigorous state-determined action.​

The designations also allow the state to direct additional funding to the schools.

Jamar Scott, the chief equity and school improvement officer for the district, said several schools improved in their summative scores even though it didn't change their summative designation.

"We had several schools that were very close to becoming exemplary and some that were at the lower end of the commendable range," Scott pointed out. "Even some of the schools that dropped was because of specific demographic groups. We are aware and providing support to them."

Superintendent Jennifer Gill said the district is putting its "heart and energy into doing everything that's right for kids. We're really digging into our scores and our standards and really moving things forward."

Springfield Education Association President Aaron Graves said Monday he understood that low scores and ratings were causes for public concern.

"We're not proud of those scores as a union," Graves said. "We're proud of our people. The data is the data, and we would understand why there is reason for concern.

"As an organization, we take full responsibility and we're committed to supporting our teachers and other union members in any way possible to help reverse these trends. We're committed to doing what's best for kids and this community."

Statewide, the class of 2023 achieved the highest four-year high school graduation rate in 13 years at 87.6%, led by significant gains for Black and Hispanic students.

In District 186, Springfield High has a 73.8% graduation rate, followed by Southeast with 59.5%, and Lanphier with 53.4%. Rochester at 94.1% and Glenwood at 95% exceeded the state mark for high school graduations.

Overall, the district's chronic absenteeism rate was 43%, higher than the state norm of 28.3%. Chronic absenteeism is defined as absences that total 10% or more of school days of the most recent academic year.

Two District 186 improved their designations from 2022.

Ridgely Elementary (prekindergarten to fifth grade) went from targeted support to commendable while Edwin Lee School went from comprehensive support to commendable.

Lee School includes classes for students grades kindergarten through fifth. It also provides special education services for students ages 5 to 22, with instruction focusing on functional academics with an emphasis on life skill development, according to its website.

"We are very proud of Lee and Ridgely for their efforts, but we understand the demoralization for our colleagues at schools of lesser or declining designations," Graves added.

Three high schools in the area − Rochester, Chatham Glenwood, and Williamsville − were cited as exemplary. Rochester and Williamsville retained that certification, whereas Glenwood was listed as commendable in 2022.

Schools with performance in the top 10 percent are rated exemplary.

Ball-Chatham Superintendent Becca Lamon said in addition to Glenwood's increased proficiency scores in English language arts and math and its high graduation rate of 95%, the designation is also a testimony "to the hard work of our staff members at the high school level and how much dedication that they pour into our students in ensuring they're successful.

"We've done some strong work in some common curriculum and assessments, particularly at the high school level. I also think that our strong involvement in (Capital Area Career Center) and pathway opportunities and dual record and (Advance Placement) opportunities that Glenwood High School provides our students goes to that overall designation."

The number of students participating in career and technical education and in advanced coursework, including dual credit, AP, international baccalaureate and honors, increased in 2023, Matthews said.

Tri-City Elementary in Buffalo (prekindergarten to fifth grade), Sherman Elementary (prekindergarten to fourth grade), and New Berlin Junior High (sixth to eighth grades) also were rated exemplary.

All eight of the schools in Lincoln, including Lincoln Community High School, were at the commendable level.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois State Board of Education report rates student performance