Illinois revamps School Report Cards

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Updated: January 30, 2012 3:31PM

Starting in 2013, the School Report Cards released for each Illinois school and school district will include data on how well schools are preparing students for college.

The new report cards must include the percentage of eighth-grade students who enter high school on track for college and career readiness and the percentage of high school graduates who are college or career ready.

The changes signed into law Jan. 24 by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn also require the report cards to include the percentage of students who are enrolled in college or post-secondary training programs within two semesters of high school graduation. Moreover, the revamped report cards also will spotlight the percentage of high school graduates who require remedial course work after high school.

The law revamping the state’s School Report Cards doesn’t specify the particular yardstick for measuring college readiness. But the state currently uses ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks, a point of contention with suburban school administrators who say ACT’s “flawed” methodology casts student preparation in an overly negative light.

ACT developed its markers through studies of scores earned by students in relation to their college grades. ACT determined what scores are needed by junior or senior year of high school for the student to have at least a 50 percent chance of earning a B and a 75 percent probability of earning a C as a first-year undergraduate.

To meet ACT’s benchmarks for college readiness, a high school student needs at least an 18 in English out of a possible 36; a 21 in reading; a 22 in mathematics and a 24 in science. Area educators say the science bar is set way too high and distorts the picture.

The new focus on college and career readiness is part of a nationwide movement to create a seamless educational system that produces a prepared work force.

The report cards also will include information to help parents gauge the degree of stability and continuity at their child’s school. For instance, the report cards will report the percentage of teachers with fewer than 10 absences for reasons other than professional development, long-term disability or family leave.

Parents also will have information on teacher and principal turnover and the percentage of teachers rated proficient or excellent on their most recent evaluation.

The report cards will track achievement results going back five years and provide a general comparison with a peer group of schools with similar characteristics, such as the percentage of low-income, special education and limited-English proficient students.