URBANA — New national data released by Stanford researchers and also featured in the New York Times, presents Urbana as one of the lowest-performing school districts in Illinois.
According to the Stanford Educational Opportunity Project, average test scores for Urbana School District 116 are almost four grades below the national average after a two-decade decline.
Urbana Superintendent Jennifer Ivory-Tatum said she has concerns about the statistics presented.
“The state of Illinois for many years has been fourth out of 50 states with the most stringent, just the hardest performance scales and benchmarks,” she added. “When you think about a national exam, and think about our performance scales being so high, it really isn’t comparable.”
Illinois recently revised its scale, saying its students do better nationally on reading and math than the old scale would indicate.
The Stanford researchers said they estimated differences between state testing systems in their report.
In the most recent Illinois Report Card data, Urbana did not have the worst scores in Illinois, but it was among the lower scorers.
Ivory-Tatum said the district continues to focus on academic achievement.
“We recognize the need to improve student achievement. We are committed to that as a district. That is our priority.”