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​The Illinois State Board of Education is engaging stakeholders in the redesign of its system of assessmentaccountability and statewide support.

  • Step 1: Make assessment data more accurate by developing new proficiency definitions people understand and support.
  • Step 2: Make the accountability system more actionable by using clearer criteria to define each designation category for schools (criterion-defined instead of normed).
  • Step 3: Use new, more accurate data to channel investments toward improving student outcomes.

Explore these initiatives, find opportunities for engagement and offer feedback below.​​

Read & Review Performance Level Descriptors First Draft

ISBE is seeking public comment on the first drafts of its new performance level descriptors (PLDs)​​.  Over 100 educators with expertise in the Illinois Learning Standards worked in grade band and subject teams to develop these drafts. The teams met every other week from September 2024 through February 2025, often volunteering additional time and effort.

These PLDs are meant to be a first attempt at finding the right level of detail and placing the expectations for proficiency at the right level of rigor.  Your feedback will inform a final draft that will be shared for comment after this round of review is complete.

We encourage you to use the PLD Review Guiding QuestionsPDF Document to help you in your review of the PLDs. The learning standards for English language arts, math, and science are structured slightly differently. We ask that you submit your review for one subject at a time. If comparing subjects for alignment or usage of terms, put the comment in the subject you recommend be changed.

Each assessed grade (or grade band) and subject has three documents:

  • Detailed and granular PLDs intended for use by those familiar with the content standards.
  • High-level, summary PLDs that do not require specific knowledge of the learning standards.
  • Sample items, responses, and/or rubrics that illustrate performance expectations across the performance levels.

You may submit your review to essa@isbe.net or use the online submission form.

The comment window closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 7, 2025.​​​​

Opportunities to Engage

 About this Work

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders met with educators, administrators, parents, students, and other stakeholders as a part of his first 100 days in office. Three problems of practice emerged as barriers to sustainable improvements in student outcomes:

  1.  Restrictive cut scores mislabel students who on track for college or career as “not proficient,” which gives inaccurate information to educators and makes assessment data less useful.
  2. The accountability system lacks clear performance criteria for each designation. The goal posts move every year, making it harder for districts to set improvement goals and track their progress. A district might actually improve its academic performance from one year to the next, but drop in its accountability designation, disincentivizing the pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement.
  3. The accountability system labels 70% of schools as Commendable, including schools with vastly different academic outcomes. Misleading data prevents our Statewide System of Support from effectively engaging all schools in continuous improvement.
ISBE will pursue three independent but interrelated improvements to our assessment and accountability system with the goal of building on the positives in the current system while addressing these problems of practice:
  1. Realigning our definition of proficiency to improve coherence across grades and subjects and take into account the relationship of proficiency to other important measures of student academic success.
  2. Making adjustments to our accountability system to provide more accurate and more actionable information to districts and schools in support of continuous school improvement.
  3. Connecting data on school performance to pillars in the Statewide System of Support to provide support to all districts and schools, regardless of designation.
The Illinois State Board of Education is engaging stakeholders in the redesign of the assessment and accountability system with the goal of implementing new proficiency benchmarks on the 2025 Report Card and updating the accountability framework and Statewide System of Support on the 2026 Report Card. Find more information on the assessment and accountability processes and stakeholder engagement opportunities below.

 Right-Sizing Proficiency Benchmarks

Based on the identified problems of practice, ISBE is exploring potential adjustments to the accountability system to establish clear, transparent criteria that are easily communicated and actionable. The goal is to simplify the process for schools to understand the performance profiles associated with each designation category. Additionally, these adjustments aim to provide schools with actionable insights that can directly inform and guide their improvement efforts.​

ISBE is seeking public comment on the first drafts of its new performance level descriptors (PLDs).  Over 100 educators with expertise in the Illinois Learning Standards worked in grade band and subject teams to develop these drafts. The teams met every other week from September 2024 through February 2025, often volunteering additional time and effort. These PLDs are meant to be a first attempt at finding the right level of detail and placing the expectations for proficiency at the right level of rigor.  Your feedback will inform a final draft that will be shared for comment after this round of review is complete. 

We encourage you to use the PLD Review Guiding QuestionsPDF Document to help you in your review of the PLDs. The learning standards for English language arts, math, and science are structured slightly differently. We ask that you submit your review for one subject at a time. If comparing subjects for alignment or usage of terms, put the comment in the subject you recommend be changed.

Performance Level Descriptor Working Groups

Content PLD Writing Teams IntroductionYouTube Video Link

ELA Meeting Dates Math Meeting Dates Science Meeting Dates
09/24/2024
10/09/2024
10/16/2024
11/06/2024
11/13/2024
12/11/2024
12/18/2024
01/15/2025
01/15/2025
01/16/2025
01/22/2025
01/24/2025
01/29/2025
09/30/2024
​10/07/2024
10/28/2024
11/04/2024
11/18/2024
12/02/2024
12/09/2024
12/16/2024
01/06/2025
01/13/2025
01/16/2025
01/23/2025
09/24/2024
01/01/2024
10/15/2024
10/29/2024
11/12/2024
11/19/2024
12/3/2024
12/17/2024
01/07/2025
01/14/2025
01/21/2025
01/28/2025
01/30/2025

Policy Level Working Group

 Adjusting the Accountabiliy System

Based on the identified problems of practice, ISBE is exploring potential adjustments to the accountability system to establish clear, transparent criteria that are easily communicated and actionable. The goal is to simplify the process for schools to understand the performance profiles associated with each designation category. Additionally, these adjustments aim to provide schools with actionable insights that can directly inform and guide their improvement efforts.

IL BALANCED ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The Illinois Balanced Accountability Measures Committee (IBAM) is tasked in School Code [105 ILCS 5/2-3/25a(b-5)] with making recommendations to ISBE on its system of accountability.

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is a panel of national experts on large scale standardized assessments and federal accountability systems. The TAC is presented with system priorities and goals identified by IBAM and suggests ways of operationalizing and implementing those priorities and goals that are most technically sound.

2024 Event Dates

  • September 18, 2024: Title 1 Director's Conference
  • September 26, 2024: IL Association of School Administrators Fall Conference
  • September 27, 2024: Bilingual Director's Conference
  • October 22. 2024: IL Principals Association Fall Conference
  • November 19, 2024: ISC4 Assessment and Accountability SY2024-25 and Beyond
  • November 22, 2024: IASB*IASA*IASBO Joint Annual Conference​

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