Illinois State Board of Education hot topics for fall

In a press release from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), ISBE discusses several new initiatives and changes being implemented to continue to improve education in Illinois. According to the article, “It’s a new day for education in Illinois. We raised expectations for students and teachers, and many are already seeing the benefits in the classroom with innovative instruction practices and more engaged learners. We’ve worked to develop more meaningful ways of measuring and reporting student progress toward college and career readiness.”

Below is an overview of the current efforts and upcoming changes that are transforming teaching and learning in Illinois.

• Implementation of the new Illinois Learning Standards – The clear, consistent and higher expectations of the new standards are changing the way teachers engage and challenge their students by focusing on concept mastery, critical thinking and real-world application. Illinois has already adopted new learning standards in English language arts, math, science and physical education and will soon review art and social studies standards to update and raise expectations in those important subjects as well.
• PARCC 2015 – The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams will debut this school year and aim to measure how well students are mastering content aligned to Illinois’ new, more rigorous learning standards tied to college and career readiness. The online assessment system will ultimately offer more timely and meaningful testing data.
• NCLB Flexibility Waiver – ISBE’s flexibility waiver from some aspects of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) goes into effect this school year, outlining the state’s plan to ensure all students are on track to succeed in college and careers though differentiated accountability, informative data, strong leaders and instructors and support for the neediest schools.
• Teacher Evaluations – Districts continue to implement, or plan to implement, a new comprehensive educator evaluation system that incorporates multiple measures of student growth and professional practice.
• Report Card Metrics – The redesigned Report Card will be released this fall with new features and metrics for 2014, including the full 5Essentials profile and report for districts and schools.

To see the full article, go to www.isbe.net/hot-topics.htm.