News

For Immediate Release
January 28, 2013

More than 600 schools recognized for exemplary performance on 2012 Illinois Honor Roll

Annual list shows continued and improved academic achievement as state moves toward new accountability system in 2014

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) announced today that 624 schools made the Illinois Honor Rollfor their continued academic progress or excellence. The state’s annual recognition program, based on the previous spring’s state standardized tests and demographic information, shows 50 schools that are being recognized for the ninth or tenth consecutive year. All of these outstanding schools are being honored for their accomplishments in making progress toward or maintaining academic excellence.

“These Honor Roll schools once again show us that rigorous standards, great instruction and lots of hard work improve student performance,” said State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico. “Behind each school’s success is an untold story of extraordinary passion and dedication on behalf of administrators, teachers, parents and students. We commend each school and hope local community members will also celebrate their local schools’ success.”

On Monday, State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch visited Community Consolidated School District 59’s John Jay Elementary School, one of three schools in the state to win the Academic Improvement Award four times, to recognize the Mt. Prospect elementary and a dozen other local schools.

“Your schools are among a very special list,” said State Superintendent Koch “You are among 624 schools out of nearly 4,000 public schools in the state named to the Illinois Honor Roll of 2012. This is a tremendous achievement. Your schools have shown a remarkable ability to overcome challenges, to make significant leaps of improvement and, in many cases, to consistently show high academic achievement.

Northern Illinois University works with ISBE to establish criteria, identify winners of the awards and administer the Illinois Honor Roll, which is divided into three categories – Spotlight Schools, Academic Excellence and Academic Improvement. Each award has unique criteria that best reflect the diverse circumstances of Illinois schools.

• Spotlight Schools – Recognizes 105 high-poverty, high-performing schools that are beating the odds by overcoming the achievement gap.
• Academic Excellence Awards – 454 schools have sustained high performance over at least three years.
• Academic Improvement Awards – 81 schools are showing substantial improvement.

The 2012 Honor Roll roster includes elementary, middle and high schools, including charter schools, and represents 293 public school districts statewide. Downstate schools represent 39 percent of the Honor Roll schools, suburban schools represent 49 percent and Chicago schools make up the final 12 percent this year. The schools earned a total of 640 awards in the three categories.

The following districts earned the most awards:

Other 2012 Illinois Honor Roll facts:

• At all 81 Academic Improvement Award schools, the number of students meeting or exceeding standards increased by at least 7.5 points over one year or 15 points over two years.
  
  
• Three schools, listed below, won the Academic Improvement Award, sustaining annual 7.5 improvements, for the fourth year. Seventeen schools won the Academic Improvement Award for the third time.
  
  

• One Spotlight School, Dewey Elementary School in Quincy, is receiving its tenth award this year, having maintained high-level performance since the award began in 2003. Another seven schools earned the award for the ninth year, and nine schools earned the award for the eighth year.
  
  
• In 2012, 39 Academic Excellence schools sustained their long-term high achievement and won a ninth award, 36 schools are being recognized for the eighth time and 15 for the seventh time.
  
  
• In 2012, 256 Academic Excellence elementary schools showed increases in scores over last year, even though they started at a baseline above 90 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards.
  
  
• This year, 15 schools won both the Spotlight Schools award and the Academic Excellence Award. Here is a list of those winners:
  

• One school, Iuka Elementary in Iuka Community Consolidated School District, won both the Spotlight Schools Award and the Academic Improvement Award.

A complete listing of the 2012 Illinois Honor Roll Schools can be found online at http://www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu

Follow us: Visit the official ISBE website at http://www.isbe.net.

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