CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: Utilizing data for improving teacher effectiveness statewide

The PEP initiative has completed its pilot phases and data reporting has now transitioned to Annual Program Reporting. View the current process and information on the Annual Program Reporting website.

Explore the Illinois Educator Preparation Profile (IEPP), the new data accountability system that provides a holistic view of all approved teacher preparation programs within colleges and universities across the state.

In 2016, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) embarked on a significant effort to advance the work of educator preparation programs statewide by strengthening data collection, sharing, and reporting. The Partnership for Educator Preparation (PEP)—a steering committee consisting of a diverse stakeholders representing educators, principals, and higher education institutions as well as other experts throughout the state—is providing input and guidance in the process and content of ISBE’s revised accountability and program improvement system for teacher and principal preparation statewide.

The goal of this new system is to ensure all new Illinois teachers are learner-ready on day one in the classroom, and that data is used as a tool for continuous improvement to strengthen teacher preparation statewide in the long term.

Currently in Year Two of the Statewide Pilot, all 58 Illinois higher education institutions with educator, administrator, and school support preparation programs are participating by submitting data to ISBE about their candidates. In return, ISBE will share analysis reports of that data back to each institution for administrators to explore the strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement within their programs.

Explore the following resources and pages to learn more about the PEP and the program’s progress to date.

Key Milestones of the PEP Process

August 2016

PEP Steering Committee recommends improved data collection system to ISBE for better accountability, transparency

Fall 2016 - Spring 2017

Mini-Pilot: 36 educator prep programs, 76% of teaching candidates in the state, submit applications for initial pilot to test recommended system

Fall 2017 - Spring 2018

Statewide Pilot - Year One: All Illinois institutions with educator preparation programs participate in Year One of two-year state pilot

Fall 2018 - Spring 2019

Statewide Pilot - Year Two: All Illinois institutions with educator, administrator, and school support preparation programs participate in Year Two of statewide pilot

Fall 2019 - Winter 2020

Implementation: ISBE replaces current annual reporting with the new system and shares results with educator preparation programs. Public release of new Illinois Preparation Profile (IPP) online database goes live in late 2020.

PEP Resources

Recommended Indicators and Measures Guide

Fall Progress Reports
PEP Wrap-Up Report

Steering Committee Members

The PEP Steering Committee was carefully selected to enable the voices of teachers, principals, districts, and preparation programs to drive the continual improvement process. A list of current members is found below:

Christy Borders - Illinois State University
Siobhan Cafferty - Loyola University Chicago
Ann Chan - School District U46
Sara Dail - Sterling CUSD5
Tim Duggan - Northeastern Illinois University
Sophia Gehlhausen Anderson - IBHE
Nelson Gerew - Chicago Public Education Fund
Justize Gottman - Golden Apple Scholar at North Park University
Greg Hobbs - Illinois PTA
Tammy Knippenberg - Lexington High School (CUSD 7)
Nancy Latham - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Rob Muller - National Louis University
Barb O'Donnell - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Felipe Lopez - Chicago Public Schools
Jennifer Smith - Monticello CUSD 25
Steve Tozer - University of Illinois Chicago
Brad White - Lewis and Clark Community College
Robert Wilhite - Concordia University

Newsletters

External Resources

The following resources and projects explore various areas of teacher preparation and the use of data. Explore these links, and the reports, videos, and articles within to help inform your institution's new data reporting process.

The New Teacher Project – TNTP:

The 2017 report “Getting to Better Prep: A State Guide for Teacher Preparation Data Systems" explores new educator preparation program reporting processes in several states, including Illinois, to share best practices and lessons learned.

Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity and Continuous Improvement Communities of Practice:

ISBE has enlisted the support of the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity (BranchED) to develop and launch a pilot initiative aimed at establishing Continuous Improvement Communities of Practice (CICPs).

Learn more in this Continuous Improvement Communities of Practice (CICPs) outline and on BranchED's website.

National Center for Teacher Residencies:

The National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTS) Resources page hosts various reports and tools geared at building effective teachers.

Regional Education Laboratory:

There are 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) that work in partnership across the Midwest to conduct applied research and training with a mission of supporting a more evidence-based education system. The REL website offers webinars, articles and others tools centered on improving an evidence-based education approach with topics from college readiness to the education landscape today.