Naperville CUSD 203 reports top-tier assessment results but board presses for gap-closing plans

Superintendent Dan Bridges and Dr. Patrick Knowlton presented Naperville Community Unit School District 203’s annual academic accountability update at the board meeting on Nov. 3, reporting that the district’s overall proficiency in English language arts, mathematics and science ranks near the 90th percentile among Illinois unit districts.

Dr. Patrick Knowlton, who led the data presentation, said the district’s grades 3–8 IAR results and 11th-grade ACT outcomes place the district “at the 90 ninth percentile across all measures,” noting six schools classified as exemplary and the remainder as commendable. Knowlton said the state recently unified cut scores across assessments, which raises proficiency percentages statewide and complicates direct year-to-year comparisons.

“Almost a little over eight out of 10 students in our district demonstrate proficiency on last spring’s ELA assessment,” Knowlton said, providing a district-level example of the new cut-score impact.

The presentation included subgroup breakdowns showing that while many student groups perform well relative to the state, significant gaps remain. Board members repeatedly returned to performance for students with individualized education programs (IEPs) and other historically underserved groups.

Board member Melissa Kelly Black urged staff to surface IEP-specific data in future report cards and to consider districtwide key performance indicators that would make progress on gaps more visible to the public. “One of the areas we can improve is those achievement gaps, which are quite large,” Kelly Black said.

Knowlton defended the district’s approach to measuring growth: the state’s growth percentile places 50 as average; the district’s ELA growth was described as roughly 58, indicating students grew more than typical statewide peers. He also emphasized the value of multiple measures — including MAP/NWEA benchmarks and classroom data — to provide a fuller picture of individual students’ trajectories.

Board members asked whether the ACT science assessment aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards; Knowlton said staff had not yet seen a formal crosswalk but that the state asserts alignment. Members also discussed the accountability model change from a norm-referenced system — where exemplary status depends on peers — to a possible future criterion-referenced model with fixed thresholds.

The board indicated it wants staff to balance growth and proficiency metrics when revising school improvement plans (SIPs) and requested that recommendations return prior to SIP development in the spring. Superintendent Bridges said staff will present recommended adjustments to SIP targets and district indicators before schools begin the next SIP cycle.

What’s next: The board asked staff to present a recommended set of district-level KPIs and to include IEP and other subgroup detail in the next reporting cycle so trustees and the public can track equitable progress.