Proposed changes to Illinois’ school accountability system are drawing some scrutiny from education groups, who warn the revisions will leave out key measures that paint a full picture of school performance.
The Illinois State Board of Education plans to eliminate several measures from its school rating system, including college and career readiness and 9th Grade on Track — a widely cited metric used to predict graduation rates.
It is unusual for several prominent Illinois education research and advocacy groups, which typically work closely with ISBE, to disagree with the state agency.
“If you’re labeled ‘exemplary,’ just like if you get an A in a class, you’re going to be like, ‘Well, I must know the subject,’” said Joshua Kaufmann, executive director of Teach Plus Illinois. “I worry about the signals coming out of this system in that way.”
ISBE will vote on the changes at a board meeting Wednesday. If the proposal passes, it will be implemented in the fall after approval from the U.S. Department of Education. All states are required to have an accountability system under federal law.
Each year, ISBE assigns designations to public schools across the state, based on metrics like school climate, test scores and graduation rates. The top 10% of schools are labeled “exemplary,” while the bottom 5% are designated “comprehensive” and undergo a four-year improvement cycle.
State officials unveiled their overhaul to the rating system in November, arguing that it was too broad: Roughly 70% of schools fell under the midtier “commendable” category. Under the revamped rankings, there will be two new designations to classify schools. There is also no set number of schools that can be deemed “exemplary” or “comprehensive.”
Education groups seem to agree the new, five-tier system will offer a more accurate portrait of schools across the state. But other changes have raised eyebrows.
The system will no longer account for 9th Grade on Track, which measures the share of freshmen with five full-year credits and no more than one course failure. The early-warning indicator, developed by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, is often credited for Chicago Public Schools’ rising graduation rates.
ISBE said the change will simplify and streamline its rating process, arguing that schools’ 9th Grade on Track and graduation rates are often closely correlated. Rae Clementz, the agency’s executive director for data, accountability and assessment, called 9th Grade on Track a “redundant indicator.”
“They fundamentally are measuring things that are so close, that they are measuring the same concept,” Clementz said. She noted that ISBE has been developing the proposed changes for years, and conducted a series of listening sessions across the state to solicit feedback.
But Advance Illinois, an education advocacy nonprofit, said that for 15% of schools across the state, there is at least a 10% disparity between graduation rates and the share of on-track freshmen.
“What worried me initially is, ‘Are all the elements that go into a holistic way of thinking about school progress in there?’” said Advance Illinois President Robin Steans.
Illinois’ new rating system also wouldn’t factor in college and career readiness. When ISBE last redesigned its school rating system, in 2017, it planned to develop the indicator based on measures like dual enrollment, industry credentials and community service. But the calculations were complicated, and the indicator was never fully implemented.
“Any attempt to revise that indicator will be a long and complex process,” Clementz said. “It also coincides with the feedback that we heard loud and clear, which is that the system needed to be simpler, more transparent and easy to explain and understand.”
Still, some groups say eliminating the metric altogether sends a mixed message to Illinois school districts about postsecondary preparation. Forty-two other states have a college and career readiness indicator written into their accountability systems, though the models vary widely.
“It’s not just about getting kids across a graduation stage. It’s really a continuum,” said Jessica Handy, executive director of Stand for Illinois Children. “What are we doing in high school to prepare kids for the life they want after graduation?”
The agency is also swapping out chronic absenteeism for continuous attendance. In effect, the metrics are the same: A student is chronically absent after missing 10% or more of school. Continuous attendance, meanwhile, measures the percent of students who have been present for 90% or more of the school year. Clementz said the switch is part of an effort to frame attendance in a more positive light.
But Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, vice president of education policy and research at the Latino Policy Forum, questioned whether the proposed attendance benchmark aligns with what is needed to support student learning — especially in light of intensified federal immigration enforcement. Reams of research have shown that academic performance is closely tied to attendance.
“Ideally, there would be a system where we can step in before students fall behind,” Vonderlack-Navarro said. “We like to be thought partners with the state in thinking about how we can work together on issues of attendance.”
School rating systems have drawn pushback in Chicago, where critics say they stigmatize campuses serving disadvantaged students. Previously, CPS numerically ranked each school, but that policy was scrapped during the pandemic.
In 2023, CPS officials debuted a new accountability model, which instead assesses schools on several “indicators for success” and does not factor in standardized test results. The district doesn’t include ISBE’s ratings on its school profile pages, but they are visible on the Illinois Report Card.
