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 Since
the adoption of the Illinois Learning Standards in 1997, the
Illinois state board of education has advocated for schools
to become "standards-led." A four-year evaluation
was conducted through 2002 to determine the level of standards
implementation across Illinois. The study delineated five
levels of implementation in seven dimensions. The findings
of that report indicated that implementation has remained
steady with professional development and curriculum most highly
implemented at Level 3. Another conclusion indicated that
most schools performing at a Level 3 were generally satisfied
with their progress and did not have either a clear sense
of how to further ILS implementation or a strong desire to
do so.
Although the expectation of implementation has been imposed,
what schools/educators/communities should "know and be
able to do" in order to become standards-led has not
been clearly defined. In response, a team of teachers, administrators,
ROE/ISC staff, and university faculty was convened to develop
an instrument to define the Standards Implementation System
for educators, students, parents, and community members. The
resulting rubrics were disseminated in December in draft form
for public review and feedback. The team was reconvened to
make final edits based on the input received.
Initial input from educators around the state has been favorable
toward these Rubrics. Providing a clear, systematic instrument
to articulate expectations should result in continuous improvement
in Illinois schools.
Web site Launched on the Evaluation of
the Implementation of the Illinois Learning Standards
The University of Illinois is currently
conducting an evaluation for the Illinois State Board of Education
(ISBE) of the implementation of the Illinois Learning Standards
(ILS). The purpose of the study is to garner a better understanding
of the progress of standards implementation across Illinois.
Visit the Web site (http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/ils/)
to peruse information about the current evaluation, reports
from the previous ILS study, and links to national resources
and ISBE created resources (e.g., the performance descriptors).
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