| The Illinois Interactive Report Card (IIRC) provides
parents, school administrators and all other interested individuals with
a simple tool to help them learn more about public schools in Illinois.
Presenting information available in the School Report Cards required
annually of every public grade school, middle school, and high school
in the state, the IIRC provides data in a format that allows viewers to
understand the performance of their local schools and to compare their
schools to others in Illinois. By selecting different sets of variables,
users can use this tool to examine data from an almost infinite number
of angles.
Using the Illinois Interactive Report Card should be relatively simple
for anyone with basic computer skills, but some basic instruction may
be useful.
This site is optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape Navigator 7.1 and above.
Visitors using a lower version browser may experience difficulties accessing the site.
Users may need to adjust the display settings on your computer. Internet Explorer users need to
click on 'View' on the navigation bar (menu) on the top of your browser window and then click on
"Test Size." Set the size to "Medium" or "Smaller."
How do I find information on a specific school?
This is the most basic use of IIRC. To retrieve this information, begin at the IIRC homepage or
click on "Find Schools" in the blue bar at the top of the page.
Fig. 1 |
From either the home page or the initial search page (Fig.1) you will first be
asked if you wish to search for a school by name, by district or
by the name of the city or county in which it is located. Step 2
instructs you to enter the appropriate information in the box provided
based on your selection in Step 1.
You will be presented with a list of all schools fitting your search
criteria. Click on the name of the school you are interested in
and a "School Information Options" page dedicated to that
school will appear. |
What information is available regarding specific schools?
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The "School Information Options"
page (Fig. 2) for each school allows you to view
electronically all of the information that is included in the standard
printed version of the school’s report card.
The second blue bar on the top of the page presents you
with a menu of options to explore:
- Test Scores –
This area allows you to explore the results from a variety of
standardized tests. Note, not all tests are administered at all
schools, and not all tests are administered to all grade levels
each year. To compare test scores with those of other schools– (See
“How do I compare schools?” below)
- Adequate Yearly Progress -
Explains what schools must achieve to make “adequate yearly progress”
under state and federal law.
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Fig. 2
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- About Students –
This segment of the report card allows you to examine the make-up of
the student body at a particular school. It explores the racial/ethnic
make up of the school, the educational environment (attendance rates,
parental involvement, etc) and enrollments and class sizes (by grade
level). All information is presented across a five-year span with district
and statewide information provided for comparison.
- About Educators –
Provides information on the racial and gender make up of the faculty,
as well as their average experience, educational attainment and salaries.
All information is presented across a five-year span with district and
statewide information provided for comparison. For administrators, student
to administrator ratios and average salaries are provided, with state
wide averages provided for comparison.
- District Financial Information –
Provides a five-year financial history for the district showing a picture
of funding sources and a breakdown of expenditures for administrative
and educational uses.
How can I quickly see a school's test performance?
Within the “Test Results” area of the School Information Options page,
users have the ability to analyze test data in a variety of ways. Note that
ISAT test results are available for grades
3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 but not all subject areas are tested each year. For high schools, PSAE
results for grade 11 only are available in reading, mathematics, writing,
science and social science.
Basic test results can be accessed by clicking
on the link for the appropriate test (ISAT, PSAE, etc). Doing so will
open a page displaying the average test results for the lowest grade
tested at that school in all subjects tested for that grade (Fig.
3). More detailed results can be viewed by clicking on the
“View by” box located in the school banner. |
Fig. 3 |
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The page will show the combined graph when it starts
By clicking on the “Performance by student subgroups”
hyperlink you will be taken to a new page (Fig. 4)
where results will be presented in a chart showing performance by
different demographic groups (based upon ethnicity, income and disabilities).
In the navigation area at the top of the page, you will find hyperlinks
that allow you to view the test data for other grades or subjects.
Performance of individual demographic groups in those categories can
be viewed by clicking hyperlinks labeled “Categories.” |
Fig. 4
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| By clicking on the "Standard Sets" link
located just above the box displaying the bar graphs of the results
(Fig. 4), you will be directed to a page that illustrates
student performance in specific skill sets in each subject area
(such as vocabulary and word analysis in Reading), so that educators
can further align curricula to the standards (Fig. 5). |
Fig. 5 |
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By clicking on the "What students should
know " link located just above the box displaying the bar graphs
of the results (Fig. 4), you will be directed to
pages that provide in-depth information regarding academic expectations for students in Illinois (Fig. 6),
including: |
Fig. 6 |
Standards and Benchmarks: Define what students
should know and be able to do to meet State goals in seven subjects.
Performance Descriptors: Provide more detail about
expectations for students by describing ways that they can demonstrate
meeting standards in each subject at each grade level.
Assessment Frameworks: Explain what topics will
be covered on each test, including percentage of test items devoted
to each concept and skill by subject area in the standards.
Sample Tests: Provide sample questions complete
with instant online scoring to show how student performance is measured
on the State tests. |
How do I compare schools?
| Perhaps the most useful tools available in the Illinois
Interactive Report Card are those which allow you to compare one
school against others.
By clicking on the "Select Schools to Compare" hyperlink
on the "School Information Options" page (Fig.
7), you will be directed to a search page that will allow
you to select a list of schools against which to compare the school
you have been examining. Fifteen different criteria are available,
allowing users to make selections based upon school location, student
body demographics, district finances and more. |
Fig. 7
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You can use this page for simple searches, like finding all schools
in a particular district or county, or refine your search by applying
multiple criteria. For instance, you can select options to request
a list of all elementary schools in a particular district with an
enrollment of 200-300 students. By selecting those criteria and
clicking on submit, you will receive a list of all schools that
fit those criteria (Fig. 8).
From that list you can choose up to 10 schools for comparison by
clicking the box in the left hand column associated with the schools
you want to examine. Once you have selected your schools, return
to the top of the list and click compare.
A “Comparison Schools Information Options” page will open (Fig.9).
By clicking on any hyperlinked category in the left-hand column
you will be directed to a page where information for all of the
selected schools will be displayed side-by-side. Schools are identified
as S1, S2, S3, etc. with a legend on the page allowing you to keep
track of which school is which. |
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
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