Call your state rep: Bad and good education bills in Springfield this week
The deadline for passing bills out of the Illinois House and over to the Senate is this Friday 4/19. Here are two bills that IL-FPS has been following closely, and we encourage you to call your state rep about both of them.
Read moreNews on testing: Opt out season; test scores for sale; testing in voucher schools
Lots of news on testing in the last couple weeks: a long-awaited report on test scores from private schools getting vouchers, a new push from advocates to stop the College Board's sale of Illinois students' data, and, as state testing begins in public schools, find out how and why to opt out.
Read moreStatement on WestEd Evaluation of the Invest in Kids Voucher Program
A report from research group WestEd on the Invest in Kids voucher program was made public this week and further bolsters the wisdom of the decision of the Illinois General Assembly last fall to let the Invest in Kids program sunset.
Read moreWhat do state test scores measure?
In the decades since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, much of the rhetoric around K-12 school performance and student academic achievement is centered around the percentage of students labeled as meeting or exceeding standards on state standardized tests. This percentage is often misinterpreted as the percentage of children scoring at or above grade level.
Read moreNews - School’s out but it’s time to start thinking about school board races; IAR changes still needed; and more
Aside from the city of Chicago, school board elections throughout Illinois take place next spring on April 4, 2023, and candidates can begin collecting signatures to get on the ballot this fall. (The 2023 candidate guide is not yet out from the State Board of Elections, but the 2021 guide has basic info about running.)
If you’re considering running for your local school board or want to support candidates, there’s a great online training next week Wed June 22 at 6pm for current and prospective board members.
Read moreBig organizing victory: ISBE dropping plan to expand state testing!
Yesterday at the May IL State Board of Ed meeting, State Superintendent Ayala made a major announcement: ISBE will not be pursuing their proposal to expand state testing that was first announced last spring.
Read moreIL-FPS news: What’s next for ISBE’s plan to increase testing? Also: DC & Springfield updates
It’s been an entire year since the State Superintendent brought to the IL State Board of Education a proposal for revamping the state standardized test system by increasing 3-8th grade math and reading testing to three times per year rather than just once and adding optional tests for K-2 as well.
The K-2 part of the proposal will be blocked if Governor Pritzker signs SB 3986, the Too Young To Test bill, which was sent to his desk on April 29th. But the proposal for 3-8th grade is still on the table.
Read moreRemarks at ISBE December board meeting on state assessment proposal
Public comment at December 15, 2021 ISBE meeting from Cassie Creswelll, IL-FPS director
Read moreStatement for ISBE FY2021 budget hearings on assessment expenditures
The Illinois State Board of Education held four meetings this fall around the state to gather input on its budget for fiscal year 2021. You can see the budget for FY2020 as enacted here. Below you can read the testimony we submitted about our concerns about the funds to be appropriated for assessments to two test vendors, Pearson and the College Board.
Press release: IL Legislators to AG: Investigate College Board's Sale of Student Data
Ahead of next week’s administration of the PSAT exam in schools around the state, nine Illinois state legislators are asking Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to investigate the business practices of a major state vendor, the College Board, the standardized test maker that sells the SAT, PSAT and Advanced Placement exams.
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