State designates seven District 58 schools as "Exemplary" and six as "Commendable"

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released its 2019 Illinois Report Card on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at http://www.illinoisreportcard.com. This annual report card highlights how well schools across Illinois have progressed on their educational goals.

All Downers Grove Grade School District 58 schools earned high marks on the report card. Seven of District 58's 13 schools earned an "Exemplary" rating, ISBE's top designation. An "Exemplary" rating is awarded only to schools that perform in the top 10% of schools statewide, with no underperforming student groups. Locally, 27% of DuPage County elementary and middle schools earned an Exemplary rating.

In addition, the remaining six District 58 schools earned a "Commendable" rating, the State's second highest designation. This rating is awarded to schools with zero underperforming subgroups that are not among the top 10 percent of schools. View District 58's designations. Learn more about designations.

"District 58's 2019 Illinois Report Card results show that hard work pays off, and I am very proud of our students and staff!" said Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell. "Our schools will analyze this year's report card data to better understand our strengths and opportunities for growth, so we can continue to realize our goal of academic excellence for all students!"

ISBE evaluates elementary and middle schools on eight indicators, which together inform a school's final designation: English-language arts academic growth (25%); math academic growth (25%); English-language arts proficiency (7.5%); math proficiency (7.5%); science proficiency (5%); English learner progress to proficiency (5%); chronic absenteeism (20%); and climate survey participation (5%). Learn more about indicators.

"Growth accounts for 50% of each school's summative rating, and District 58 has emphasized student growth as a significant measure of overall school and district success for many years," said Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Justin Sisul. "District 58 schools experienced tremendous academic growth during the 2017-18 school year, due in large part to our change in approach to the state assessment. In general, the growth our students realized in the 2018-19 school year was a more typical year than 17-18. We are incredibly proud of our students' continued growth and achievement."

The Illinois Report Card also includes the 2019 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) scores. The IAR is an assessment that all Illinois students in grades 3-8 take each spring. For the past two years, District 58 has worked collaboratively with students, staff and parents to foster a positive approach to this important exam. District 58 is pleased to share that its IAR results have continued to improve for the second straight year.

Specifically on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, the percentage of students who met or exceeded English-Language Arts standards improved from 48.8% in 2018 to 49.5% in 2019. Students who met or exceeded Math standards improved from 46.7% in 2018 to 48.1% in 2019. When comparing year-to-year growth, the Report Card also found that District 58 students exhibited more annual academic growth than state average.

This year's report card also included results from the Illinois Science Assessment, a test that fifth and eighth graders take. 70.9% of District 58 students met or exceeded Science standards. State average is 48.3%.

"As we celebrate our schools' designations and assessment results, we remain committed to continuous improvement and to providing the supports for every child to succeed," Sisul said. "We will continue to review all of our student achievement and growth data at the local and state level to explore new opportunities for students and to support our ongoing successes."

District 58 will hold a parent forum at each school in November 2019 to review school-specific data, discuss ways each school supports students, and highlight the school's celebrations and opportunities for growth, as indicated in the report card. View the parent forum schedule.

Visit http://www.illinoisreportcard.com and type in "Downers Grove GSD 58" to view the complete Illinois Report Card for each District 58 school.

Visit http://www.dg58.org/essa to learn more about District 58's school designations.

Media inquiries may be directed to Megan Hewitt, community relations coordinator, at 630-719-5805 or [email protected].