Illinois Race to the Top

History and Milestones

Learn more about what Illinois is accomplishing in adopting more rigorous standards and assessments; recruiting, evaluating, and retaining highly effective teachers and principals; building data systems that measure student success; and building state capacity and support.

Date	Milestone	Reform Area
January 2010	The Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) (Senate Bill 315; Public Act 96-0861) is passed by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by the Governor in January 2010. PERA requires performance evaluations for teachers and principals be explicitly tied to student growth outcomes. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
January 2010	Illinois submits an application for Phase I Race to the Top. Read more	General
January 2010	Illinois is one of 13 states serving on the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) governing board, which provides leadership and oversight to the development of new assessments for use by states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In all, PARCC has 25 member states coming together to create an internationally benchmarked assessment system to be ready for the 2014-2015 school year. Read more	Standards and Assessments
June 2010	Illinois submits an application for Phase II Race to the Top. Read more	General
June 2010	Illinois adopts the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which define the level of knowledge and skills that students should possess from their K-12 education. By achieving these standards, students will be prepared to enter college and training programs to join the workforce. Read more	Building State Capacity for Support
June 2011	Illinois Senate Bill 7, or SB7, is enacted. The bill has provisions that are connected to the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA), including those that stipulate how teacher performance ratings are directly connected to educators’ layoffs, assignments, and tenure decisions. SB7 also makes teachers’ contract negotiation process more transparent and flexible. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
June 2011	The Illinois Pathways Interagency Committee is established to develop Program of Study (POS) models across 9 STEM cluster areas. The Illinois Pathways Initiative is formally launched by Governor Quinn. Read more	Standards and Assessments
December 2011	Illinois submits application for Phase III Race to the Top. Read more	General
December 2011	Illinois receives a Phase III Race to the Top Grant of $42.8 million to accelerate key education reforms in states and districts in order to increase student achievement . Half of those funds will go directly to the State's local districts that agree to accelerate education reform. Illinois is one of seven states in the nation to be awarded RTTT3 funding, which will be distributed between 2012 and 2015 to benefit K-12 students. Read more	General
January 2012	Begin designing Local Assessment Strategy (LAS) Supports for Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) implementation.	Standards and Assessments
January 2012	Begin to Identify STEM application areas for Programs of Study through the P-20 Programs of Study (POS) and STEM Learning Exchanges initiative. Read more	Standards and Assessments
January 2012	HB 0605 authorizing the new Illinois School Report Card passes both houses unanimously and is signed by the Governor on January 24.	Building State Capacity for Support
May 2012	As part of the PERA Pre-qualification Program and Supports initiative, the Illinois State Board of Education in collaboration with the Consortium for Educational Change (CEC) begins rolling out an online, self-paced training in early May for those doing teacher and/or principal evaluation in the Fall 2012. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
September 2012	Statewide System of Support (SSOS) coaches begin to meet with Participating Districts to discuss their Race to the Top plans and to design methods for further collaboration. Read more	Building State Capacity for Support
September 2012	Lead Entities for Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Learning Exchanges are designated and planning entities commence through the P-20 Programs of Study (POS) and STEM Learning Exchanges program. Read more	Standards and Assessments
September 2012	Begin implementing PERA-compliant principal evaluation systems statewide; Chicago Public Schools begin implementing PERA-compliant teacher evaluation systems. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
January 2013	Districts implement the first Survey of Learning Conditions.	Great Teachers and Principals
January 2013	ISBE establishes the Center for School Improvement (CSI) to provide supports to Participating Districts in the implementation of the Race to the Top Participating District Expectations. Read more	Building State Capacity for Support
January 2013	The Center for School Improvement (CSI), through ISBE's Statewide System of Support, begins assisting Districts with implementing Common Core State Standards (CCSS), curriculum alignment, and improvement of instructional practices. Read more	Building State Capacity for Support
January 2013	The Illinois Collaborative for Education Policy Research (ICEPR) begins working with Participating Districts to build local capacity, support research and development activities, and share data with ISLE and/or ICEPR in a manner consistent with State and federal privacy laws. Read more	Data Systems
February 2013	The new State Report Card is introduced to Race to the Top Participating Districts. Read more	Building State Capacity for Support
July 2013	Begin integrating Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into grading processes in Math, English Language Arts and literacy across the curriculum; integrate CCSS for Science framework into curriculum.	Building State Capacity for Support
July 2013	Preliminary implementation STEM POS design; Individual Learning Plan piloted; Preliminary CCRP implementation begins. Read more	Standards and Assessments
July 2013	Professional Development on effective use of ISLE to impact teaching and learning is provided to RttT Participating Districts. Read more.	Data Systems
July 2013	Implement HPHM School partnerships, induction and mentoring programs, and participate in the State's TA and accountability systems for induction and mentoring.	Building State Capacity for Support
July 2013	Begin full implementation of induction and mentoring programs and technical assistance on accountability systems. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
September 2013	Participating Districts with existing induction programs to expand to all first- and second-year teachers and first-year principals. Participating Districts without existing induction and mentoring programs establish such programs. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
December 2013	The PEAC Support Entity works with the PEAC subcommittees to facilitate the development of recommendations for the evaluation system's components and framework for accelerated and ongoing PERA implementation.	Great Teachers and Principals
January 2014	Race to the Top Participating Districts begin to implement the Illinois Shared Learning Environment (ISLE) Read more	Data Systems
January 2014	Participating Districts implement the second Survey of Learning Conditions.	Great Teachers and Principals
January 2014	The Illinois Collaborative for Education Policy Research (ICEPR) conducts a forum on data sharing, policies, and research agenda. Read more	Data Systems
July 2014	As part of the College and Career Readiness (CCR) Program, PARCC assessments will be administered and fully operational across all districts. Student achievement levels, including college-ready performance levels will be established. Read more	Standards and Assessments
July 2014	Begin full implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) throughout the curriculum.	Building State Capacity for Support
July 2014	Begin full implementation of STEM POS, Individual Learning Plan, and College and Career Readiness Program (CCRP). Read more	Standards and Assessments
September 2014	The lowest 20% of Race to the Top Participating Districts fully implement PERA-compliant teacher evaluation systems that incorporate student growth measures. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
January 2015	Participating Districts implement the third Survey of Learning Conditions.	Great Teachers and Principals
September 2015	All Race to the Top Participating Districts fully implement PERA-compliant teacher evaluation systems that incorporate student growth measures. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
September 2015	The lowest 20% of Districts state-wide fully implement PERA-compliant teacher evaluation systems that incorporate student growth measures. Read more	Great Teachers and Principals
December 2015	Race to the Top concludes.	General