The Illinois State Board of Education (IBSE) released the annual Illinois Report Card on Monday, October 30, 2023. The annual Illinois Report Card provides a snapshot of academic achievement, student and teacher information, and financial data at the state, district, and school levels. USD116 has prioritized its district and school improvement goals in the areas of teaching and learning with a focus on reading and math, accountability, student voice, and professional development.
The data released today showed increased growth in the number of students participating in advanced coursework and Career and Technical Education (774 participants, 419 concentrators), a promising increase in our Black (60%) and Hispanic (80%) 9th graders on Track, and a continued increase in teacher retention (84%). These increases will directly impact an improvement in our future graduation rate (currently 80%).
The number of students participating in Career and Technical Education (CTE) and advanced coursework, including dual credit and Advanced Placement, increased in 2023. Illinois expects to see the number of students enrolling in advanced coursework continue to rise as Public Act 101-0654 takes effect. The law requires school districts to automatically enroll students in the next most rigorous level of coursework if the student meets or exceeds state standards on the state assessment. USD116’s graduation rate for CTE concentrators is 91%.
New Category of Academic Progress – English Learner Progress to Proficiency
Newly implemented this year, the English Learner Progress to Proficiency (ELPtP) yielded the following results for the percentage of students who met their proficiency targets from 2022 to 2023: Yankee Ridge (67.8%), Thomas Paine (no data reported due to subgroup size), King (67.5%), Leal (74.63%), DPW (72.57%), UMS (27.07%), UHS (25.77%). The score for students is calculated based on the number of years enrolled in school. Students who enroll during their secondary years have had fewer years to demonstrate growth than students who enrolled during their elementary years. Example: A student that enrolled in Illinois Schools in ninth grade versus a student that has been enrolled since kindergarten.
Annual Summative Designations
One component of the School Report Card is the annual summative designation – a federally required descriptor of how well our schools meet all students’ needs. The results reveal two Urbana School District #116’s (USD116) schools achieved the designation of Commendable based on multiple indicators. We recognize and applaud the accomplishments of our Commendable schools: Urbana High School and Wiley Elementary. The District’s commitment to improving student outcomes is reflected in new adoptions of Math curricula, with an upcoming adoption in 2024 for English Language Arts. In addition, USD116 is committed to supporting new teachers and long-term substitutes through a mentoring program and continued professional learning.
Three of our schools, Leal Elementary, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, and Thomas Paine Elementary, received the designation of Targeted, which means that while the school overall is commendable, one or more student groups are performing at or below the lowest-performing 5% of all schools. Two of our schools, Yankee Ridge Elementary and Urbana Middle School, were designated Comprehensive. Dr. Preston L. Williams Jr.Elementary has been designated Intensive, meaning the school remains in the lowest five percent after being designated Comprehensive for the past five-year cycle. The schools will receive technical assistance and funding for planning and implementation during this four-year grant award. In addition, all schools provide extended day support at Dr. Preston L. Williams, M. L. King, Thomas Paine, Leal, and Yankee Ridge. Urbana High School, Urbana Middle School, and Leal offer 21st Century/SPLASH programming.
Student Growth and Proficiency Data
The past four years have been very challenging for our students, educators, and families, and we recognize our students’ academic growth has declined, which is in line with nationwide pre-pandemic trends. Our overall student growth percentiles showed slight improvements from 2022 in both reading and math. An overall slight increase in reading proficiency was made in reading from 2022 to 2023. Student growth percentiles measure growth by comparing the year-to-year progress of a student to that of their “academic peers” throughout the state.
Proficiency shows whether or not students have mastered a standard. In contrast, student growth recognizes progress toward and beyond the standard, no matter where the student started. While our overall proficiency rates in both ELA and Math remain below pre-pandemic levels, it should be noted Illinois has some of the most rigorous standards for proficiency in the nation. Illinois’ benchmark for proficiency is higher than that of 45 other states, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Data from the Spring 2023 IAR assessments for ELA indicate that 39% of all students made their growth target. In math, overall, 40.5% of students made growth. The percentage of students meeting and exceeding on the SAT increased by 2.4%.
Though gains have been made across the District this year, USD116 looks to improve student growth and proficiency rates as an equity action plan is in place to monitor and provide feedback on overall systems. All new teachers receive support through a comprehensive new teacher induction program. The District is dedicated to utilizing IL School Improvement Funding to provide student resources beyond the school day through extended learning opportunities. There has also been a focused effort on the part of the District in the last year to prioritize learning standards across all grade levels and content areas and adopt new resources in reading and math. USD116 is in the third year of administering NWEA-MAP (i.e., Measures of Academic Progress in Reading and Math) in kindergarten to twelfth grade as a benchmark assessment three times per year to identify progress and supports needed along with other diagnostic measures provided by our educators.
“Even though we have faced serious challenges over the past few years, we are proud of our teachers and staff, who are incredibly hardworking and dedicated. As a District, we remain committed and focused on improving the academic outcomes of all our students while also providing social-emotional recovery from the pandemic. We are working hard to align our teaching, learning, and instruction efforts to recruit and retain high-quality teachers to engage our students in a culturally responsive, effective curriculum that aligns with our student’s learning goals and targets,” said Superintendent Ivory-Tatum.