The Illinois State Board of Education unanimously approved changes to its school accountability system on Apr. 15, introducing new performance labels and a revised calculation method for evaluating schools across the state.
The update matters because it aims to provide a more accurate picture of how well schools are performing and determines which schools receive extra state funding for improvement. The proposed changes now await federal approval before taking effect this fall.
Under the current system, schools were categorized as Exemplary, Commendable, Comprehensive, Targeted, or Intensive. The new designations will be Exemplary, Approaching Exemplary, Commendable, Developing, and Comprehensive. Officials said that applying these categories to 2025 data would distribute schools more evenly among the labels compared to previous years.
State Superintendent Tony Sanders described the overhaul as one of his major goals. He said at a recent board meeting that many schools had been receiving signals they were doing better than they actually were under the old system. “I don’t think there’s anybody that I’ve met in public education that would say that our current accountability has worked effectively at moving school improvement for student outcomes over these past few years,” Sanders said.
Board vice chair Donna S. Leak acknowledged mixed reactions from stakeholders but emphasized efforts to improve student achievement: “Everybody is not going to be happy about it, and that’s OK,” Leak said. “What we’re trying to do is find ways to connect to student achievement in a more meaningful way.”
Some advocacy groups have raised concerns about elements left out of the final plan—such as removing measures tracking ninth graders’ progress toward graduation—and questioned whether attendance thresholds are high enough given chronic absenteeism rates in districts like Chicago Public Schools.
Emily Warnecke from the Illinois Association of School Administrators expressed support for the revisions: “What you have in front of you today, I believe, is fair,” Warnecke said. “It is reflective of the great work that is happening in our schools across the state, and it still maintains very high expectations for our students.”
With federal approval pending and resources planned for families ahead of implementation this fall, officials expect further discussions around readiness indicators while rolling out what they call core academic performance measures.
