District 88 shows continued improvement and student growth on state report card

At District 88, our mission is to work for the continuous improvement of student achievement.

Each and every day, District 88 works to build positive futures for its students inside the classroom and beyond. The results of the 2013 state report card show the success of District 88 and reflect the efforts of staff, Board of Education members, students, parents/guardians and community members. Those results are just one tool the district uses to continue progressing.

District 88 highlights:

• Post-secondary success: Students in the Addison Trail class of 2013 are attending colleges and universities in 13 states and were accepted to nearly 100 colleges and universities in 26 states. Students in the Willowbrook class of 2013 are attending colleges and universities in 20 states and were accepted to 156 colleges and universities.
• Advanced Placement enrollment: The number of Addison Trail students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses increased to 1,580 in 2013 from 414 in 2004. The number of Willowbrook students enrolled in AP courses increased to 1,146 in 2013 from 352 in 2004. AP courses allow students to experience college-level rigor and earn college credit while still in high school.
• Prairie State Achievement Exam results: On the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), Addison Trail and Willowbrook students increased their scores in math and reading from 2011-12 to 2012-13. Last year, Willowbrook was recognized by the Daily Herald as having the highest gains in test scores of all suburban high schools in the Herald’s coverage area, and Addison Trail received that recognition from Chicago Sun-Times in 2009, so Willowbrook Principal Dan Krause and Addison Trail Principal Adam Cibulka said the schools are proud to show continued growth this year.
• Graduation rates: District 88’s four-year graduation rate for 2012-13 was 89.2, compared to the state’s 83.2 percent. The district’s five-year graduation rate for 2012-13 was 91.2 percent, compared to the state’s 87 percent.

To see more District 88 highlights, go to www.dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=1094. 

New report card format:

This year’s report card released by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) reflects a new format, which is more consumer friendly. The new report card features multiple measures of academic performance, as well as school climate and learning conditions, rendering a more complete picture of each school and district. It emphasizes measuring student and school progress, rather than merely providing a one-time snapshot of annual standardized test scores.

The new report card is available at www.illinoisreportcard.com in two formats:

• An online report card with an interactive tool to explore school performance data. It also includes information on student demographics and performance.
• An at-a-glance report card, which offers a two-page snapshot that can be downloaded from the online report card.

5Essentials Survey results:

Also new on the report card this year is the 5Essentials Survey results. The 5Essentials Survey is a diagnostic tool that measures schools’ level of strength – or implementation – on leading indicators of school improvement. The 5Essentials are:

• Effective leaders
• Collaborative teachers
• Involved families
• Supportive environment
• Ambitious instruction

Several pieces of legislation, including Senate Bill 7, required the ISBE to establish and administer a survey of school climate and learning conditions on a biennial basis, beginning in the 2012-13 school year. ISBE will administer the survey again in 2013-14 to establish trend data.

Report cards will provide each school’s survey participation rates among teachers and students and a link to www.illinoisreportcard.com, where schools can find a summary of their students’ and teachers’ responses for each question in the survey (such as 70 percent of students strongly agreed they feel safe in and around the school).

Next year, on the 2014 report card, the 5Essentials Report graphic will feature scores that reflect each school’s results on those five indicators or “essentials” for school success. The 5Essentials Report — composed of detailed essential, measure and question results — is meant to allow schools to drill down to discover precise areas of strength and areas needing growth. District 88 will use those results as another tool to continue fulfilling its mission to work for the continuous improvement of student achievement. For more information about the 5Essentials, go to www.isbe.net/performance/html/5essentials.htm. 

“We are proud of the successes we’ve achieved at District 88, and we know that success is a result of our stakeholders working together,” said District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton. “We will strive to improve every day, because that’s what the community expects of us, and that’s what we expect of ourselves. It’s our commitment to the community to build futures for the students of District 88.”

Below are some highlights of District 88’s 5Essentials Survey results.

Teacher Survey

Student Survey

To see the full 5Essential Survey results, go to:

Addison Trail Teacher Survey: https://dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=1117 

Addison Trail Student Survey: https://dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=1116 

Willowbrook Teacher Survey: https://dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=1115 

Willowbrook Student Survey: https://dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=1118