The Illinois State Board of Education released data on Thursday showing how students are performing at schools across the state.
The numbers on Illinois Report Card show students improved their reading skills through English Language Arts more than they did learning before the pandemic — and more schools are contributing to that rapid growth.
“[It’s] thanks to the work of our teachers across this state implementing evidence-based literacy practices,” said State Superintendent Tony Sanders.
The state has been emphasizing evidence-based practices with the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan.
The plan began with state lawmakers, who required ISBE to launch the initiative by 2024. The document focuses on teaching foundational literacy skills, like sounding out words systematically, as well as screening students early to identify their needs.
Sanders said the literacy plan has been so successful that the state wants to replicate it with a numeracy plan focused on math skills, as student growth has been slower in the subject. ISBE has published a draft of the numeracy plan on its website and is taking public feedback.
In Champaign, one-on-one teaching, relevant books and AVID techniques boost scores
Adria Warren remembers entering Jefferson Middle School in Champaign after the school year had already begun.
“When I first came, they were learning this whole different thing than I did at my other school,” Warren said.
Her sixth grade English Language Arts teacher, Mike Carpenter, sat down with her and helped her learn the new concept.
“After two days, I already knew everything. He’s a good ELA teacher,” Warren said.
She believes the school is succeeding because its teachers are willing to dedicate individual time with each student to make sure they understand.
Jefferson Middle School was the best place in East Central Illinois for Black students to grow their reading skills last year. Their scores on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness jumped more than at their peers’ scores at any other school.
Jefferson Middle School Principal Kyle Freeman said the school focused in particular on literacy last year. He said the school is a national demonstration school with Advancement Via Individual Determination, a nonprofit that provides a framework for schools to get students ready for graduation and college.
Freeman said Jefferson Middle School has brought AVID strategies into its classrooms. Champaign Unit 4’s most recent superintendent, Shelia Boozer, also championed AVID as a framework for the district’s schools.
“Things like vocabulary strategies, marking the text and focused notetaking all play a part in students being able to process their learning and then apply that learning,” Freeman said.
He said the school took pride in helping teachers learn the AVID framework and building professional development for it last year.
Adria Warren’s former teacher, Mike Carpenter, now teaches eighth grade ELA. He thinks the school’s growth might be related to the kinds of books teachers are choosing for their classes.
“We really try to incorporate diverse texts that the students would be a little bit more interested in. I think when students are interested in the text they’re reading, they’re that much more excited to write about it afterwards,” Carpenter said.
He said Jefferson also has a strong record of retaining teachers, helping build community and experience among its staff.
St. Joseph Middle School checks the evidence
Latino students and students overall grew in English Language Arts more at St. Joseph Middle School than at other schools in east central Illinois.
Principal Alisyn Franzen said the combination of teachers collaborating with one another and the family engagement makes St. Joseph Middle School an ideal learning environment.
“I don’t think it gets better than what we have,” Franzen said.
The school is 10 miles east of Champaign-Urbana, and Franzen said it is a fringe district for the urban area. Franzen cautioned that the school of 325 students is racially homogenous. There are only about 10 Latino students, so scores for that demographic could change year to year.
Franzen said the literacy plan has not directly affected the scores yet, but its ideas did play a role. She said teachers have been looking at the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan as a model for their own plan this year.
“As we’re doing so, we’re realizing we are already doing a lot of really good things,” Franzen said.
For example, the teachers and administrators work hard to make sure what they do is evidence-based, whether through research, national data or keeping an eye on results at the school. Franzen said the Illinois literacy plan workshops have also pointed out independent websites, like the federal What Works Clearinghouse, that administrators can use to check whether a curriculum or other product is a good idea.