State Report Card Is In: See How Grayslake Schools Rank

This year's Illinois School Report Card is in and many area schools showed test results meeting or exceeding state averages. 
 
The State Board of Education released its annual report card Thursday. Of the schools ranked in the report card, 600 passed while 3,169 were "deemed failures," according to a Daily Herald analysis of the State Report Card. 

Grayslake Community School District 46 showed 69 percent of its students met or exceeded standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test in 2013 while an average of 61.9 percent met that same benchmark statewide, according to the Illinois State Report Card website. In 2012, 88 percent met or exceeded standards within District 46, according to the Illinois Report Card.

Meanwhile, 63 percent of students met or exceeded standards on the ISAT within Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50. That's a decrease from 86 percent in 2012.

Like many schools throughout the state, District 50 and District 46 saw a significant drop in its scores from 2012 as part of the state board's move to raise expectations — or cut scores — for the ISATs, which is given to third through eighth grade students. 

The move was meant to help "align with the more rigorous Common Core Learning Standards and give a better indication of college and career readiness," according to a Illinois State Board of Education press release. 

As part of those changes, schools meeting or exceeding expectations in 2012 on average dropped throughout the state nearly 20 percentage points from 82.1 last year to 61.9 percent this year. 

The scoring on the Prairie State Achievement Exam, which is given to 11th graders, did not change this year and statewide, the composite score increased from 51.3 percent to 51.9 percent statewide, according to the ISBE press release. The composite meets or exceeds percentage for math and reading was set at 53.3 on this year's State report Card. 

Within Grayslake High School District, which includes Grayslake North and Grayslake Central high schools, 68 percent met or exceeded state standards on the PSAE. This is an increase over 2012 when 66 percent met or exceeded those same standards. 

A new metric, “Ready for College Coursework,” on the Illinois State Report Card refers to the percent of students at each high school who earned a combined score of at least a 21 on the ACT college admissions test. Statewide, 45.7 percent of Illinois public school students from the Graduating Class of 2013 posted at least a 21 on the ACT.

Within District 127, 62 percent were considered "ready for college coursework." 

Here is a look at how the individuals high schools fared on this year's report card: 

• Grayslake Central High School: 71 percent of students met or exceeded state standards for the PSAE in 2013 compared to 67 percent in 2012. 64 percent were ready for college coursework. 
• Grayslake North High School: 66 percent of students met or exceeded state standards for the PSAE in 2013 compared to 65 percent in 2012. 60 percent were ready for college coursework. 

See how your school fared by visiting the Illinois State Report Card website.

The Daily Herald has published an online tool meant to help examine your child's school and make better sense of the Illinois State Report Card data. Visit the Daily Herald website to learn more about your child's school.