SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) today announced a statewide listening tour to gather feedback on its new support and accountability system. Stakeholder feedback gathered throughout the tour will inform an amendment to the Illinois Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Plan and will improve Illinois’ approach to measuring and supporting school performance. ISBE will make tour stops in Wheaton, Chicago, Springfield, Carbondale, and Moline. Stakeholders may also submit feedback by emailing
essa@isbe.net.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) approved the Illinois ESSA Plan in August 2017. ISBE committed to engaging in continuous dialogue with stakeholders about the plan and to updating the plan every three years, as needed. The 2019 Support and Accountability Listening Tour sets the stage for ED to approve an amendment to the Illinois ESSA Plan by August 2020 and for changes to go into effect for the 2020-21 school year.
“ISBE developed the Illinois ESSA Plan through robust stakeholder engagement. These efforts produced a multiple-measure accountability system and established a strong framework of partnership with the field,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala. “Continuous review and improvement is one of the strongest commitments that we make in our ESSA Plan. We look forward to working with educators to further promote equity and excellence for all students.”
Illinois’ support and accountability system launched on the Illinois Report Card last October. The system currently includes four designations for school quality: Exemplary, Commendable, Underperforming, and Lowest-Performing. Ten measures – 75 percent academic and 25 percent student success – contribute to each school’s designation.
ISBE will request feedback on several major areas of the support and accountability system during the tour, including:
- Overall weighting of academic vs. student success indicators
- Weighting of individual indicators
- Assessment policy for newly arrived English Learners
- Designations
- Number of designations
- Names of designations
- Criteria for Exemplary designation
The 2019 Support and Accountability Listening Tour will include the following stops:
- May 16, 5-7 p.m. – DuPage County ROE, 421 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton
- May 20, 5-7 p.m. – Chicago, site to be determined
- May 22, 5-7 p.m. – Springfield District 186, 1900 W. Monroe St., Springfield
- May 23, 5-7 p.m. – Carbondale Community High School, 1301 E. Walnut, Carbondale
- May 29, 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Rock Island ROE, 3430 Avenue of the Cities, Moline
The next steps after the listening tour include drafting and posting an amendment to the Illinois ESSA Plan, seeking public comment on the amendment, and consulting with Governor JB Pritzker. The State Board will take action to approve the amendment, tentatively planned for the State Board meeting on October 16. ISBE then will submit the final amendment to ED for anticipated approval in the first few months of 2020.
