District 15 reports gains after state test recalibration; K–5 ELA review planned
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Emily McFadden told the board that state testing benchmarks were recalibrated this year; District 15 reported roughly 55% ELA proficiency and over 51% math proficiency and emphasized growth measures, plans for a K–5 comprehensive ELA review with pilot and phased adoption, and expanded formative assessment use.
Assistant Superintendent Emily McFadden briefed the board on district academic performance in light of a statewide renorming of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA). McFadden said the state unified performance levels and recalibrated benchmarks; the district's reported figures after recalibration were about 55.1% proficient in English language arts and over 51% proficient in math.
McFadden emphasized that the state changes do not reduce the tests' rigor and described how the district tracks both proficiency and growth. "The growth percentile for IAR did not change," she said, noting multi-year trends of rising proficiency and districtwide gains since 2021. District staff credited aligned curricula, vertically aligned road maps and new common-assessment tools for recent improvements.
The Teaching, Learning & Assessment team outlined next steps for curriculum and instruction: a comprehensive K–5 ELA review led with teacher committees and multilingual staff; a planned pilot in the 2026–27 school year; and a target to bring material to the board for possible adoption in August 2026. The district also highlighted use of PEAR Assess, an online formative-assessment platform, to provide question-level feedback to teachers and drive reteaching cycles.
Board members and staff said the district has focused resources on math scope-and-sequence alignment with high schools and on expanding hands-on science activities to pair with reading improvements.
No formal board action on curriculum adoption occurred at the meeting; staff said they will return with specifics after the pilot phase and committee recommendations.
