LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
At the end of October, the Illinois State Board of Education released its 2024 report card for Illinois schools. The annual report cards summarize how each school is progressing on a wide range of educational goals and "provides a snapshot of academic achievement; student and teacher information; and financial data at the state, district and school levels."
Using data from the 2023-24 academic year, including Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) scores, ISBE places all schools in one of five categories, also known as summative designations.
This year, all schools in Edgar County achieved the “commendable” designation. ISBE defines a commendable school as “A school that has no underperforming student groups, a graduation rate greater than 67%, and whose performance is not in the top 10 percent of schools statewide.”
Student growth on the IAR is the biggest category for elementary and middle schools, accounting for 50 percent of the total points. For high schools, graduation rate is the biggest category, accounting for 50 percent of the total points.
To find a full breakdown of each school’s ISBE Report Card, visit www.illinoisreportcard.com.
Paris Cooperative High School - Commendable
While PCHS still struggles to keep its attendance at a consistently rising level, Principal Mark Cox was still impressed with the school’s report card results.
“The good news is we were marked as commendable. We have been pretty consistent with being commendable; most of the schools around us in the county are also commendable,” Cox said. “Things that we look at, at least from my perspective, is student attendance and graduation rate. Those are part of our school improvement plan.”
With an attendance rate goal of 93 percent, the school missed the mark and ended the period with a 91 percent attendance rate. The graduation rate is tracked on a four, five and six-year trend. PCHS’s current four-year trend has decreased by one percentage point, but the five—and six-year trends have risen.
“I would contribute that to our alternative program,” Cox said. “With our in-house program, we're trying to get kids to get caught up so they can graduate, even if they don't make it in their four years. Although that might not look great if you look at it like that, I think in the long term, we're working really hard to help those kids that didn't make it in the four years. We haven't forgotten them.”
The report also ranked 30 percent of the PCHS student population as ‘chronically absent.’ Cox clarified that just because a student falls into the category it doesn't mean they are falling behind.
Paris CUSD 4 - Commendable
Last year, CUSD #4 received an “exemplary” designation, a rating reserved for the top 10 percent of all schools statewide. This year, the district received a “commendable” ranking for both its elementary and junior high schools.
“We were very, very close at getting exemplary scores for ELA,” Crestwood Principal Meghan Damler said. Damler highlighted the school’s growth in the areas of math and ELA scores, especially among junior high students.
“We shine at growth,” Damler said. “The state average is 69.8 percent and we are well above the state average with students meeting and exceeding ELA and math scores. We are the highest average in Edgar County as well for exceeding (those scores.)”
While Damler praised the hard work of students and staff, she also highlighted areas for improvement. The largest struggle the schools faced was chronic absenteeism.
“If you miss more than 10 percent of school days you are considered chronic … that is only 18 days for the entire school year,” Damler said. “It’s an area that we need to look into as far as what we can do to identify, but our overall attendance is not bad.”
Damler is spearheading the creation of a school improvement plan based on data and feedback from the report card. Among the areas she intends to focus on are elementary math facts, creating support for students who face absences and better tracking junior high students' readiness for high school.
“We are looking at this year, really honing in on those standards and seeing if we need to look at our curriculum maps and move things around,” Damler said. “Overall, we did amazing. Kudos to our students and our teachers for really putting the time in. Especially to the students who take it seriously; it's hard to have to sit through those (tests.)”
Shiloh CUSD 1 - Commendable
All schools in the Shiloh CUSD #1 district—elementary, junior high and high school—received commendable ratings.
“All schools were designated as commendable,” Shiloh Principal Amy Jones said. “We had significant growth in math at the elementary level, so that is great.”
Elementary students proved they know their stuff, with 9.3 percent of students ranking as exemplary in science assessments. Overall proficiency scores also jumped from 20.9 percent in 2023 to 39.4 percent in 2024.
Shiloh High School achieved an 89 percent graduation rate and saw a tremendous jump in the percentage of students meeting state-regulated performance levels on SAT scores, from 7.7 percent in 2023 to 25.7 percent this year.
“I would love to congratulate the staff on the commendable ratings for the district,” District Superintendent Morgan Wilhoit said. “They have attended additional professional development and training for our math and reading curriculum and the growth in our scores is outstanding, while spending Wednesday early dismissals collaborating with each other.”
Wilhoit also credited the students for their continued hard work.
“Our students come to school every day knowing there will be consistent expectations and have excelled at meeting those expectations,” she said.
Kansas CUSD 3 - Commendable
After Kansas CUSD #3 received a Targeted rating in 2023, the district knew it had to change its approach to testing and other various activities. The implemented changes improved the high school and elementary school ratings to Commendable for the 2024 school year.
“We incentivized testing. Local businesses sponsored us by giving gift cards as well as candy and pizza parties. We began using DreamBox as a math and ELA intervention in seventh-12th grades, and we had special events happening during testing to get our students excited and motivated,” Kansas Assistant Principal Tiffany Huisinga said.
Almost all testing percentages doubled from 2023 to 2024, thanks to the hard work and dedication of students and staff. The high school currently has an 82 percent four-year graduation rate.
“Our proficiency levels, in both ELA and Math, improved drastically For ELA, in the 2022-23 school year we had 30 percent of students proficient or excellent, and in the 2023-24 school year, we had 58 percent proficient or excellent. For Math, in the 2022-23 school year, we had 11 percent of students proficient or excellent, and in the 2023-24 school year, we had 24 percent proficient or excellent,” Huisinga said. “In school year 2023, as a district, we had 21.3 percent of our students receiving a proficient or excellent, and in school year 2024, we had 40.8 percent of students receiving a proficient or excellent.”
Staff at Kansas CUSD #1 hope to continue their hard work and encourage students to further improve from their current standings.
“We are extremely proud of our staff and students for their hard work. This data represents the dedication that our staff has to ensure our students receive every opportunity possible to learn and grow and the hard work, determination and perseverance that our students put forth every day,” Huisinga said. “We have many plans through our school improvement team and building leadership team to make this school year even better.”
Huisinga has challenged the students; if they can double their proficiency/excellent in math or reach 75 percent proficiency/excellent in ELA, they can pie her or tape her to a wall.
Edgar County CUD 6 - Commendable
Chrisman Elementary got a 53.32 overall index score on their Illinois Report Card, placing them in the Commedable category. Last year, the school had a rating of 31.87, which put them into the Comprehensive category, so their recent score was a dramatic improvement. The school’s chronic absenteeism was finalized at 23 percent.
Chrisman-Scottland Junior High received an overall index score of 44.17, giving them a Targeted rating, in 2023. The school has spent the past year revamping the culture of the school to improve its score, and it has paid off. Their 2024 overall index score raised to a 60.88, giving them a commendable rating. Seventeen percent of Chrisman junior high school students are considered chronically absent, which is less than most other Edgar County schools.
Principal Nicole Cox commends the effort Chrisman students and teachers have put in to improve their school.
“I am extremely proud of the hard work that our teachers and students have put in to make such substantial growth. Our staff has worked tirelessly to do what is best for our students. Their hard work and dedication is paying off,” she said.
Cox hopes to continue the school’s growth for even better results next year, even creating new systems and aid programs for students and others.
“Our school improvement teams are meeting regularly to monitor progress and to make adjustments as we see they are needed. The junior high has added the House System this year and we are already seeing incredible changes in attendance, work completion and grades, not to mention the positive impact it has had on the culture of the building,” she said. “We have also worked with parents to create the Eagle Spirit Council. This is a parent organization that helps organize student events and provides input to staff on ways we can work together to constantly improve our school.”
According to Cox, “Chrisman High School also saw great gains on the 2024 School Report Card. The overall high school performance raised 33.88 points over school year 2023. CHS has maintained a summative designation of Commendable in both 2023 and 2024.”
Chrisman High School hopes they can further improve their score with various additions to their school.
“Our high school is focusing on the new College and Career Readiness Indicators to help prepare our students for the next steps beyond Chrisman High School,” Cox said. “We have implemented a WIN (What I Need) period where students are tracking their own data, as well as using this time for academic interventions and getting help from staff. We are already looking at this new data and making plans on what we can do to get even better results. I am excited to see where we go from here.”
Paris-Union SD 95 – Commendable
There are three schools in Paris Union School District 95 (Paris 95).
Memorial's students range from Pre-K to second grade and are too young to participate in academic testing. Still, the school received a “commendable” rating. Memorial also boasted a 93.6 percent attendance rate, finishing above the state average of 91.6 percent.
In the 5Essentials Survey, a survey of students and teachers gauging the school’s learning conditions, the school received “neutral” scores in the effective leaders, collaborative teachers and involved families categories.
Shiela Grant, Memorial’s first-grade team leader, revealed that the school is implementing a new writing curriculum called “Bridge to Writing” to boost student performance.
“We're hoping for good things because the kids seem to like it – they seem to be more engaged with it. So it's a wait-and-see (scenario), but we're very hopeful that, again, when Wenz gets our children, they will see an improvement,” Grant explained.
In terms of academic performance, Carolyn Wenz Elementary principal Megan Carroll said the school saw improvement in some areas and a decline in others. IAR scores recorded an increase in students who “did not meet” or “partially met” benchmarks in ELA and mathematics during the most recent testing period. In both subjects, the number of students in the “met expectations” group decreased from the prior year’s report card and fell below the state average.
Wenz’s greatest academic success this year was found in its Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) scores, which have been a strength for the school in recent years. Wenz saw growth in the percentage of students falling into the “proficient” category (44.8 percent, up from 42.1 in 2023), a number well above the state average of 35.5 percent.
Arguably, the school’s strongest performance came in the 5Essentials Survey. Wenz received “strong” scores for collaborative teachers, supportive environment, ambitious instruction and involved families, as well as a “very strong” rating in the effective leaders category.
Carroll was quick to commend her staff for their work in improving and maintaining the school’s culture.
“What you don't see is the army of people that aren't here (at the meeting) … There's 39 staff members that walk into Wenz every single day, whether it’s cooks, custodians, para(professional)s, certified teachers, nurses, secretaries – and everybody has the intent of walking in to make a difference in the kids’ lives. And I'm proud of the work that we're doing and the work that we continue to do each and every day,” she said.
Mayo Middle School also received a commendable rating, with an overall score that jumped to 80.81 from 74.33 the year prior. Mayo missed out on an “exemplary” designation, the best possible rating, by a mere 3.23 points. In ELA, Mayo saw a massive jump in performance, with the “met expectations” and “exceeded expectations” student groups growing to 46.6 percent (up from 38.8 percent in 2023) and 24.1 percent (up from 17.1 percent), respectively. Both groups are well ahead of the state average.
The school’s mathematics IAR score remained largely the same, while the science assessment revealed growth in lower-performing student groups.
Mayo saw some improvement in its 5Essentials Survey results, but there is still room for improvement. In three of five categories, the school received “weak” scores. The school received “strong” scores relating to ambitious instruction and strong leadership.
Mayo principal Casey Pinnell said he is optimistic about the school’s future given continued academic growth and signs of improvement in the school’s learning environment. Pinnell noted the school’s chronic absenteeism rate measures well above the state average (35.7 percent compared to 26.3 percent). The school has enlisted consultants from the Regional Office of Education, reviewed its policies and procedures, and will continue to find ways to incentivize student attendance.
“We are now and have always been super strong academically. And now, I think when you start to see these other things come around, like the culture and the climate, and when we get that absenteeism in check, the sky's the limit for this school,” Pinnell said. “We’ve got great teachers, we've got great staff, we’ve got great students. It's going to keep getting better and better.”