D-26 ISAT Scores Stay Consistent, Ranks Second in County

With many changes in , students still had a strong showing in the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).

ISAT Scoring

Grades fourth through seventh stayed the same or slightly increased, with about 90 percent of students meeting ISAT standards in reading, math and science.

The biggest change occurred in third grade.

In 2010, 83.7 percent of students met state standards for reading but in 2011, that number decreased to 79.4 percent.

said a less than five percent decrease isn't anything to be alarmed by and considered normal. A decrease of five to 10 percent would spark concern, she said. 

Board member Scott Coffey said he looked at the ISAT data extensively and found that in the third grade Hispanic students score 30 to 50 points lower than other subgroups in reading. 

However, Coffey said the initial third grade cohort group of Hispanic students attending district 26 schools will eventually see only a differential of less than 10 points compared to other subgroups.

"If we're able to keep them in the district for an extended period of time, that margin of difference really starts to detract pretty substantially," he said. 

McCall added that students experience their first standardize test in third grade, so there might be lower scores but as students get older, they become more accustom to the assessment. 

Within the 19-school McHenry County benchmarks, district 26 ranks second in math and reading.

"All things considered, with everything that has happen over the last two years, our scores are still very solid, very strong," McCall said.

Adequately Yearly Progress Breakdown

The Adequately Yearly Progress (AYP) which is a part of the No Child Left Behind Act, is used to measure the academic performance in public schools in the United States.

With Hispanics, Limited English Proficiency students and economically disadvantage students not meeting state standards, district 26 did not meet their AYP goal of 85 percent.

Board president Chris Spoerl asked what are the consequences for not making the AYP goal?

McCall said if the district has three years in a row of not making their AYP goal, the Title 1 federal funding will be allocated towards specific services and professional development to help student improvement.

According to the Center on Education Policy, only an estimated 51 percent of Illinois schools made their AYP goals between 2006 and 2010.

In 2011, 80 percent of districts in Illinois failed to make AYP.

AYP EQUAL STEPS for District 26

Steps to be taken

Building principals will work with their staff to analyze the data a little further.

McCall says principals and staff will look at scores, specific questions and subgroups, in which they will conduct an in-depth analysis. School improvement plans will address these specific areas of need.