This week, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released its annual report card, which aims to show how school districts across the state are progressing toward their educational goals.
Just like last year, Naperville School District 203 ranked above average when compared to the state benchmarks in all areas of the report card. Of the 21 schools that were examined in District 203, eight were ranked as “exemplary”, while the remaining thirteen were deemed “commendable.”
Indian Prairie School District 204 also ranked above the statewide average in the vast majority of categories. 31 schools in District 204 were considered for the report card, with five graded as “exemplary” and another 24 as “commendable.” The remaining two schools, Brookdale Elementary and Longwood Elementary, were considered to be in the “targeted” category. According to ISBE, a school with the targeted designation means that one or more student groups are performing at or below the “all students” group of the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools.
District 203 report card
The annual ISBE report card analyzes data from standardized testing to see how schools stack up in math, science, and English/language arts (ELA).
In District 203, 58.2% of students ranked as proficient for math standards. That’s more than double the percentage of students who did so statewide (26.9%). The numbers look similar for the ELA assessment, with more than two-thirds of District 203 students grading out as proficient (67.2%) compared to just over one-third (34.6%) of students across the state. As for science testing, 78.6% of District 203 students were identified as proficient. Statewide, 51.8% of test takers reached those standards.
“Our students and staff are knocking it out of the park,” Naperville School District 203 Superintendent Dan Bridges said in a message to local families. “We’re glad to see our schools at Exemplary and Commendable on the ISBE Report Card, but I am even more proud of how we are making school a place where kids love to learn and grow. It’s happening through innovative learning practices, inclusive environments, targeted supports, and exciting real-world experiences.”
Besides higher-than-average proficiency scores across the board, District 203 also graduated a larger percentage of students in four years (96.2%) when compared to the rest of the state (87.6%).
District 204 report card
Similarly, IPSD 204 schools also far outpaced state averages when it came to standardized testing.
More than half (50.7%) of District 204 students scored proficiently in math, which is well over the 26.9% of students who did so across Illinois. In terms of ELA, District 204 saw 52.7% of students reach the proficiency benchmark, while statewide the number was 34.6%. They were also well ahead of the average in science testing, with nearly three-quarters of District 204 test takers grading out as proficient (73.2%) compared to just over half for the state (51.8%).
Indian Prairie schools also reported a lower percentage of chronic absenteeism than average, while maintaining a higher teacher retention rate.
Longwood Elementary was put into the “targeted” category by ISBE because the report card identified that work needed to be done to support the achievement of three categories of students, including Black/African American, children with disabilities, and low-income students.
For Brookdale Elementary, Black/African American students were identified as needing additional support.
“Our performance on the school report card reflects the hard work and dedication of our teachers and support staff to meet the needs of our students in the classroom on a daily basis,” said District 204 superintendent Adrian Talley in a statement. “We remain committed to helping all our students achieve their greatest potential. While District 204 has performed well relative to state benchmarks, we continue striving to support all our students in their academic and social-emotional growth.”
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