For Immediate Release
January 31, 2008

ISBE and NIU announce 2007 Illinois Honor Roll; Nearly 1,200 schools singled out for academic excellence
Annual list recognizes continued academic achievement; 97 schools on the list fourth & fifth consecutive year

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) announced today that 1,177 schools made the Illinois Honor Roll and are being recognized for their continued academic progress. The 2007 honor roll includes 97 schools that are being recognized for the fourth or fifth consecutive year. All of these outstanding schools are being honored for their accomplishments in making progress toward or maintaining academic excellence.

“I congratulate and applaud the efforts of those principals, teachers, parents and community members who made it possible for these schools to rise to the level of excellence required to make the Illinois Honor Roll,” said State Superintendent Christopher A. Koch. “It is also noteworthy to see that many schools continue to maintain this achievement year after year. Making the Illinois Honor Roll is an achievement that should be celebrated. It represents the hard work that takes place in the classroom everyday.”

NIU Outreach worked with the ISBE to establish criteria, identify winners of the awards, and administer the Illinois Honor Roll, which is divided into three recognition categories – Spotlight Schools; Academic Excellence and Academic Improvement. Each award has unique criteria that best reflects the diverse circumstances of Illinois schools.

• Spotlight Schools – Recognizes 508 high poverty, high performing schools that are beating the odds to overcoming the “achievement gap.”
• Academic Excellence Awards – 166 schools have sustained high performance over at least three years.
• Academic Improvement Awards – 607 schools are showing substantial gains over three years.

The 2007 honor roll roster includes elementary, middle and high schools and represents 382 school districts statewide. A number of districts have multiple schools named to the Honor Roll, including: City of Chicago 299, 279 schools; Elgin U-46, 32 schools; Springfield District 186, 19 schools; Rockford School District 205, 18 schools; Decatur District 61, 15 schools; Waukegan Community Unit School District 60, 14 schools; Joliet Public School District 86, 13 schools; Peoria District 150, 11 schools; West Aurora School District 129, 10 schools; and East Aurora District 131, 10 schools.

Other 2007 Illinois Honor Roll facts:

• At all of the 607 Academic Improvement Award schools, the number of students meeting or exceeding standards increased by at least 7.5 percent over one year or 15 percent over two years.
• In 2007, 29 schools won the Academic Improvement Award for a third time, and 223 schools won the award in both 2006 and 2007.
• 40 Spotlight schools earned the distinction for a fourth time.
• 42 Academic Excellence schools sustained their long-term high achievement and won a fourth award in 2007. 46 schools are being recognized for the third time (2005–2007) and 29 for the second time (2006–2007).
• 30 Academic Improvement Award schools raised scores by more than 30 percentage points over two years.
• 71 Academic Excellence elementary schools showed increases in scores over last year, even though they started at a baseline above 90 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards.
• 83 percent of Illinois Honor Roll schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), as defined by the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, thus ensuring that all students increased their academic knowledge and skills.

A complete listing of the 2007 Illinois Honor Roll Schools can be found online at www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu.