Local News

District 153 schools earn commendable ranking

The Illinois State Board of Education issued commendable rankings for Willow, Churchill and James Hart Schools in Homewood District 153.
 
“We’re very proud of the work our staff does in working with the students, and collaborating with the parents and all our teams,” said Superintendent Dale Mitchell. 
 
The 2018 Illinois Report Card measurement scale provides for four designations: exemplary, commendable, underperforming and lowest performing. The measurements take into account student scores on standardized tests and how well students perform on them year after year.
 
In addition, rankings also use a number of factors, including test results, absenteeism, truancy, student mobility and performance by special education and low income students.
 
The PARCC assessment exam is given annually to students in third through eighth grades. Scores show 42 percent of students met and 6 percent exceeded the state’s English/Language Arts score. The state average shows 31 percent of students met and 6 percent exceeded expectations.
 
In math, 22 percent of District 153 students met the target and 3 percent exceeded. The state statistics are 27 percent met the standards and 5 percent exceeded.
 
Mitchell said he knows the district needs to comply with state testing. While the rankings use student scores to rank the schools, he prefers to look at the work being done in the classrooms in District 153 and how well prepared students are for their years at Homewood-Flossmoor High School.
 
The district does its own assessments using the STAR program, with testing done throughout the school year, rather than once a year as PARCC. Teachers use STAR results to keep students on track with the school curriculum.
 
All state test results are available at www.illinoisreportcard.com.
 

News by email

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name

Free weekly newsletter

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name
Most read stories this week