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ISBE report card: enrollments down, multilingual learners up; board hears graduation and absenteeism context
Summary
District staff presented the Illinois School Report Card for 2023–24: total enrollment down about 13% since 2018, multilingual-learner population rising, high graduation rates overall but chronic absenteeism remains at roughly 20% (students missing three and a half weeks or more), prompting continued intervention planning.
District staff reviewed the Illinois School Report Card for school year 2023–24 and discussed several performance and demographic trends with the board.
Key points: enrollment has declined about 13% since 2018; the district has seen growth in some subgroups, including multilingual learners (district presentation cited a headcount around 166 and a districtwide rate over 5%). Hinsdale Central retained an "exemplary" ISBE rating and Hinsdale South a "commendable" rating under current state metrics. Staff cautioned that many ISBE indicators compare different junior cohorts each year (digital-adaptive assessments and a state shift from SAT to ACT complicate year-to-year comparisons).
Graduation-rate slides broke out 4-, 5- and 6-year cohorts and explained that some students who meet graduation requirements but continue to receive transition‑center services are counted differently in the 4‑year metric; this inflates the "not graduated" count for the 4‑year cohort even though students later accept diplomas and are included in the 5/6‑year rates. Chronic absenteeism — defined as missing the equivalent of roughly 3½ weeks of school — remains a focus, with about 1 in 5 students meeting that threshold. Administration described multi-pronged tiered attendance interventions, improved reporting on progress-to-graduation and planned academic-committee follow-up in early 2025.
The board later approved an immediate, targeted staffing change to support multilingual learners (an additional 0.1 FTE for South for a semester) by unanimous vote.
