Leadership Matters August 2014

Key ISBE initiatives to be implemented

called our “Multiple Measure Index,” and reward schools that show improvement. Schools continue to implement the new ILS. The Illinois State Board of Education has created an online Professional Learning Series with hundreds of supplementary resource items available, developed an ELA and Math Listserv and designed ELA and Math shift kits containing materials about best practices. Teacher Voices , a new ISBE website, shares teacher stories and perspectives about curriculum and instructional changes as they put the standards into practice. Districts also are developing new educator evaluation systems that provide a clearer picture of the quality of classroom instruction by combining multiple measures of student growth and professional

Message from the State Superintendent of Education

I hope you had a wonderful summer and are ready for the challenges and opportunities of a new school year. Several significant changes are underway as many of our key statewide initiatives, including the debut of new online assessments, new ways to measure school performance and support of teacher and leader effectiveness, build momentum in Illinois. We appreciate the guidance members of the Illinois Association of School

To help administrators understand new requirements and prepare for what’s ahead, ISBE is hosting a Back- to-School webinar at 10 a.m. August 19. I strongly encourage you and your staff to join me for this overview with time for questions about these ongoing initiatives.

Administrators have provided as we continue to implement these improvements. This spring, students will take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams in place of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE). The PARCC assessment consists of two required components: a performance-

practice. Additionally, new metrics set to appear on the 2014 School Report Card, including the full 5Essentials profile and report for districts and schools, will better reflect student and school achievement. We have worked closely with administrators in the field as we move forward with the 5Essentials,

-- Dr. Christopher A. Koch, State Superintendent of Education

based assessment (PBA) and an end-of-year assessment (EOY). As a result of your feedback we will only require the federal minimum for testing and allow for some flexibility. This spring, third- through eighth-graders will take the PARCC in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. Students will take the PARCC in Algebra II/Integrated Math III and in ELA III. We will also administer the ACT on a voluntary basis. The new assessments were developed to gauge how well students meet our new Illinois Learning Standards (ILS) and determine by each grade level if students are on track for college and career success, offering a much earlier reading of that preparation than any state assessment has ever offered. These new standards and the PARCC are part of ISBE’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility waiver that goes into effect this school year. The new flexibility enables us to offer a much more comprehensive approach to measuring school performance through the use of multiple metrics,

making changes to how it was reported last year at your request, and also supporting legislation this year to allow for alternate survey of learning conditions instruments to be used. We are currently working with you and other stakeholders to determine what those instruments will be. To help administrators understand new requirements and prepare for what’s ahead, ISBE is hosting a Back-to-School webinar at 10 a.m. August 19. I strongly encourage you and your staff to join me for this overview with time for questions about these ongoing initiatives. I want to thank your advisory Board that has worked with us over the past four years as we move forward with implementation on these initiatives. Much work lies ahead, but with cooperation, planning and a clear understanding of our goals, I believe we can make the 2014-2015 school year the most productive and successful one yet for the students and educators of Illinois.

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