November 14, 2011

Mayor Emanuel, CPS Unveil Interactive Online Map Where Public Can View All School Progress Report Cards Providing Detailed School Performance Data

School Progress Report Cards Also Available to Parents During Report Card; Pickup for Regular Track Schools on Wednesday and Thursday

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard met with parents at Perez Elementary School in Pilsen to discuss the new school progress report cards that all parents will receive this week during report card pickup as well as two comprehensive measures to ensure the public has access to critical data on schools citywide.  The public will have access a comprehensive online map that will allow parents to view key performance data for schools in their area or anywhere in the city. 

“We cannot close the achievement gap and provide our children with the education they need and deserve without accountability in our school system. This new tool empowers parents to hold schools accountable for performance and provides them with another opportunity to be engaged in the education of their children,” said Mayor Emanuel.

School progress report cards tell the story of a school’s performance by providing information about academic performance, teachers and staffing, school culture and climate, and parent satisfaction. The progress reports provide easy-to-read charts on each indicator that synthesize data on graduation rates, student and staff attendance rates, student-teacher ratios, school safety, and the percentage of students at grade level in reading and math, among other factors.

“Parents are key partners in our effort to support principals and teachers in helping to boost student performance. We want to provide them with access to data on performance in a clear and understandable way so that they can be informed and fully engaged in their child’s education,” CEO Brizard added.

In addition, Mayor Emanuel announced that the public will have access to all school progress report cards through a comprehensive online map. Parents will be able to view all schools within their area and click on the “push-pin” associated with a school to view a pop-up box with key facts from the progress report card. The popup box will include school name as well as the school’s performance level, safety score, family involvement score, key testing data measuring college readiness and, for high schools, both the graduation rate and college enrollment rates. At the bottom of the box, users will be able to click on a link to full progress report card for that school.

While progress report cards put the student performance data into context and the online map helps parents compare schools in their areas, the mayor also announced that data on each school would be available at http://cityofchicago.org/cpsmap. To date, this is the largest data dump of CPS information on individual schools and will offer the public information on 30 key areas critical to student academic success ranging from student test scores to parent involvement ratings.

The progress report cards look beyond the traditional metric of Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) data to tools that better gauge college readiness. Instead, parents will find information on the percent of students who perform at grade level compared to their national peers, based on the growth assessments CPS implemented district-wide in 2010.  The progress reports also show the percent of students keeping pace academically compared to their peers nationwide from the beginning to the end of the school year.

In eighth grade, CPS administers EXPLORE, an assessment of college readiness that demonstrates what percentage of students is graduating from an elementary school are prepared for high school. These results are also included to help measure student academic performance within elementary schools.

In addition, CPS is providing parents with a report on the performance of students in the early elementary grades in both literacy and math. Student progress in pre-kindergarten through second grade is crucial for ensuring that students are successful later in elementary and high school, which is why the district has placed an emphasis on providing opportunities for preschool and full-day kindergarten citywide.

At the high school level, student progress will be measured in three distinct ways:

  • Student Progress toward College Readiness: This includes reporting the average ACT score for our juniors.  This test score is an important part of each student’s college application and students need a score of 21 or higher to have a good chance of success in their college courses.  In addition, reports use data from freshmen and sophomore scores on  EXPLORE and PLAN, which gauge college readiness.
  • College Eligibility: In addition to the high school graduation rate, CPS is also reporting a college eligibility rate.  This rate is based on the combination of ACT scores and GPA seniors must achieve in order to be eligible for enrollment for a selective or highly selective college. 
  • College Enrollment: CPS is also reporting the college enrollment rate.  This represents the percentage of seniors who enroll in a two- or four-year college the fall after high school graduation.

CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard met with parents of students in CPS schools throughout the summer to gain their feedback on what should be included in the school progress report cards and the school culture was one element parents wanted more information about. Progress reports include comprehensive information on the culture, climate and safety within the school from student and teacher surveys conducted by the University of Chicago.  In addition, parent survey results for each school will include both parents’ perceptions of school engagement and the quality of the school environment.

School progress report cards aim to empower parents to spark conversations with teachers about their child’s performance and what their school needs to succeed.  To view the interactive map of schools and their progress report cards, please visit http://cityofchicago.org/cpsmap.

 

CPS Report Card Map

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