Academic Improvement Awards

In April 2004, the Illinois State Board of Education established an Academic Improvement Awards program to honor schools for substantial gains in performance over the last three years. The State Board’s system of rewards and acknowledgements for schools that consistently meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) responds to requirements of No Child Left Behind

The State Board partnered with Northern Illinois University to identify 100 schools where students have made significant academic improvement while meeting AYP criteria. The award winners range across all levels, from schools where 40% of students are meeting the Illinois Learning Standards to schools where 90% of students are meeting standards.

To receive an Academic Improvement Award, all schools must --

• Make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2003, and
• Show an upward trend in state test results

AND make significant academic improvement by either --

• Showing at least 7.5 point improvement in state test scores between 2002 and 2003, OR Showing at least 15 point improvement in state test scores between 2001 and 2003

OR

• Earning removal in 2003 from the Academic Warning List or School Improvement Status.

The 7.5 point increments were selected to match the projected increase in annual academic performance targets under No Child Left Behind beginning in 2005.

Located throughout the state, the award-winners represent every type of school - large and small; elementary, middle, and high schools; both regular and charter schools; all funding levels; urban, suburban, and rural; low-performing and high-performing. They demonstrate that exemplary progress is possible at every level and can be sustained over time. By making Adequate Yearly Progress as required by No Child Left Behind, these schools show that they know how to help all students succeed.

Winners of the May 2004 Academic Improvement Awards

List of 100 Award-Winning Schools

Most Improved Elementary Schools

Most Improved Middle Schools

Most Improved High Schools

Most Improved Chicago Schools

These awards add to the ISBE’s system of rewards and acknowledgments begun with the Spotlight Schools honored last fall. Spotlight Schools are public schools that achieved high academic performance in an environment where a majority of students come from low-income families. Both programs are managed by Northern Illinois University. (make Spotlight Schools a hotlink to the SS website)

The school awards are a project of NIU’s P-20 initiative, an extensive program of activities intended to strengthen quality and coordination across the education continuum from pre-school through post-graduate education. For more information, contact p20@niu.edu.