The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a dramatic change from the law it replaced, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). An important part of ESSA, as well as Illinois’s plan to implement the law, is the use of data to inform policymaking, to help teachers improve student achievement, and to aid families in supporting their … Continue reading New Parent Guide on Education Data
Parent Guides for the New Science Standards
You may be familiar with PTA’s Parents’ Guides to Student Success, which highlight what your child will be learning in Math and English/Language Arts from kindergarten through high school. During the 2016-2017 school year, Illinois required the use of its new science standards, based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Now the NGSS developers … Continue reading Parent Guides for the New Science Standards
Financial Literacy Resources
April is Financial Literacy Month, and one of the three resolutions passed at the 2017 Illinois PTA Convention called for the Illinois PTA to advocate for schools to incorporate financial literacy education into their existing curricula. Financial literacy is critical for students to acquire, as managing money, purchasing a car or house, saving for a … Continue reading Financial Literacy Resources
Illinois PTA Convention Preview—Resolutions
The 115th Annual Illinois PTA Convention will be held on April 7th and 8th at the Hilton—Naperville. Convention is a great opportunity to attend interesting workshops and network with other PTA leaders, but it is also the time that the Illinois PTA conducts its business. Part of that business is directing the legislative and advocacy … Continue reading Illinois PTA Convention Preview—Resolutions
Helping Your Child Prepare for Assessments
Spring is here, and with it comes assessments. For third through eighth graders, that means the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). For high school juniors, that means the SAT. Just like some schools may play up the assessments with pep rallies and such while others treat them as simply another … Continue reading Helping Your Child Prepare for Assessments
ISBE Unveils New Friendlier Website
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) provides a wealth of information for families, teachers, administrators, and community members on their website. However, finding the information you were looking for used to involve navigating an extremely complicated series of menus and links, backing up from dead ends, and sometimes futile searches. However, right before the … Continue reading ISBE Unveils New Friendlier Website
The Illinois ESSA Plan Draft #2 Highlights
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) became law almost one year ago. During this past year, Illinois and every other state has been working hard to develop a plan to implement ESSA in their state, with the final plan due to the US Department of Education on April 3, 2017. The Illinois State Board of … Continue reading The Illinois ESSA Plan Draft #2 Highlights
Every Student Counts—A New Report on Public Education in Illinois
The state of Illinois has a goal of 60% of Illinoisans with a post-secondary degree or credential by the year 2025. Today, thatnumber is 50%. Advance Illinois just released a new report, Every Student Counts—The State We’re In, that documents where public education stands in Illinois on several key measures related to that goal. The … Continue reading Every Student Counts—A New Report on Public Education in Illinois
Open eBooks Provides Free Books to Children in Need
A critical part of a child’s academic success is learning to read and developing a love of reading. For many children, developing this love is hindered by a lack of access to books in their home. Now, Open eBooks is helping educators, librarians, and program leaders working with children from in-need families get free access … Continue reading Open eBooks Provides Free Books to Children in Need
Illinois Releases New School Report Card
The Illinois State Board of Education released its state report card for the 2015-2016 school year yesterday. Illinois PTA has shared how to navigate the report card, and this year’s version offers some new tools and new information. This year’s report card is also mobile-friendly, an important feature since many families in Illinois only have … Continue reading Illinois Releases New School Report Card
Use the Super 5 to Get Your School Year Off to a Great Start
Be a Learning Hero has launched The Super 5: Back-to-School Power Moves to help families get their school year started right. Families know their child’s interests, habits, and personality, but they may not know what their child is expected to learn. The Super 5, in both English and Spanish, provides families with resources to address … Continue reading Use the Super 5 to Get Your School Year Off to a Great Start
5 Things You Need to Know About the PARCC Score Release
Last week, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released preliminary score reports for this spring’s PARCC assessment. Here are five important points to understand about these scores. The scores are only preliminary. The scores are aggregated at the state level, and school districts have not yet checked the data to eliminate duplicate student records … Continue reading 5 Things You Need to Know About the PARCC Score Release
Understanding ESSA
President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law last December. ESSA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and made substantial changes to the previous version of the law known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Many of these changes focused on moving responsibility for improving education from the federal government … Continue reading Understanding ESSA
The New Illinois Arts Learning Standards
Illinois has been revising its learning standards from the old 1997 standards to encompass what our children need to know to be successful in the 21st century. New standards for Math, English/Language Arts, Science, Social Science, and Physical Education have been revised in recent years. This summer, new Arts Learning Standards have been adopted and … Continue reading The New Illinois Arts Learning Standards
News from National Convention—The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law, a significant change in how federal, state, and local governments will guide your child’s education for the next decade or more. While you can read the full 449 pages of the bill, a workshop at the 2016 National PTA Convention … Continue reading News from National Convention—The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
News from the Illinois PTA Convention—Assessments
Illinois is currently in the middle of its annual state assessment of students with the PARCC exam. We have highlighted the video series discussing the role of assessment and how they inform teachers. At the 114th Annual Illinois PTA Convention, Dr. Kay Dugan, Assistant Superintendent for Learning at Bensenville School District 2, shared what her … Continue reading News from the Illinois PTA Convention—Assessments
Sign the Testing Bill of Rights!
This post by Jacki Ball originally appeared on National PTA’s One Voice blog. Jacki Ball is the director of government affairs at National PTA. National PTA is pleased to join forces with the Center for American Progress (CAP), America Achieves and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), among others in support of the … Continue reading Sign the Testing Bill of Rights!
7 Things Families Need to Know About the New Illinois Science Standards
In 2014, Illinois adopted a new set of science standards, based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). School districts have been implementing the standards since then, and all schools must use the standards beginning in the 2016-2017 school year. Here are X things that families need to know about these new standards. The standards … Continue reading 7 Things Families Need to Know About the New Illinois Science Standards
New Report Evaluates Content and Quality of PARCC Assessment
In less than a month, the testing window for this year’s Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) will open and schools will begin assessing students in grades 3 through 8 and in high school. There was some controversy surrounding last year’s PARCC assessment, and this year’s assessment is changing to address … Continue reading New Report Evaluates Content and Quality of PARCC Assessment
Illinois Schools are Closing the “Honesty Gap”
Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), states were required to have annual assessments of students in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. For Illinois, those assessments were the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) for the younger grades and the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) for high school students. Because NCLB set specific percentages … Continue reading Illinois Schools are Closing the “Honesty Gap”
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