State report cards coming Oct. 31, with some changes

Later this month, the Illinois State Board of Education will release its annual set of data that measures how well students and schools are performing, but several new metrics will help parents and community members better analyze the numbers.

This year's report cards, which will be made public on Oct. 31, will feature several new statistics, including data on principal retention, college readiness and how many Illinois high school graduates are enrolled in two- and four-year colleges, according to a news release from the State Board of Education on Wednesday.

"These improvements allow for more informed ... discussions about individual school improvement efforts and each school's capacity to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges of higher education and a competitive, global marketplace," said State Superintendent Christopher Koch in the release.

"This information is crucial as we move to a new accountability system based on updated learning standards, higher performance expectations and more useful assessments, all focused on college and career readiness."

The 2014 report cards, which typically report demographic and test result data, will also detail the number of principals who have worked at a particular school in the past six years, and the percentage of teachers returning to the same school over the last three years.

"I'm pleased we're reporting principal and teacher retention rates," State Board Chairman Gery Chico said in the release. "This metric provides a better picture of what's happening in our schools. It is information schools and parents can use to address the reasons for attrition so that high-quality educators can stay in classrooms and help improve student achievement."

Also new, 12-month and 16-month enrollment statistics for former Illinois high school students in two-year and four-year colleges will be included on the report cards.

According to the statement, this year's results show 66.3 percent of all Illinois graduates are enrolled in higher education 12 months after graduation.

The new report cards will also look at how many Illinois students finish their freshman year of high school on track to graduate based on the classes they took and grades their received.

This will be the first year when each school's 5 Essentials Survey results will also be included on the school report cards. The survey was first administered to families in 2013 and measures school culture factors including effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environment and ambitious instruction.

One metric that will be missing from the report cards this year: Adequate Yearly Progress - an annual reporting of whether a school and district met the requirements set out by the No Child Left Behind Act. Illinois received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education in April that releases it from many aspects of NCLB and allows the state board to use multiple measures to evaluate school success, according to the news release.

The report cards also will reflect changing demographics in Illinois as the number of white students dropped below 50 percent for the first time during the 2013-2014 school year and more than half of all students in the state were designated as low-income, according to the release.

The Daily Herald will have full coverage in print and online of what the data means for suburban students and parents. To access the data for your school, log on to reportcards.dailyherald.com on Oct. 31.