Giving Compass' Take:

• Illinois education officials are proud of their schools' ratings, but critics that analyze the schools more closely found that they are too hands-off when it comes to supporting school improvement efforts. 

• Is it wise for education officials to reject the criticism? What are the next steps for the state if its ratings are not reflective of tangible improvement outcomes?

• Read about why school ratings should stress learning gains and student growth. 

State education officials publicly lauded their new school rating system Friday, even as a new, nationwide analysis of school improvement plans criticized Illinois’ approach as too hands-off.

While the state developed a clear rating system as the federal government requires, Illinois falls short in follow-through, according to the report from the Collaborative for Student Success, a nonprofit advocacy group, and HCM Strategies, a policy analysis group.  “The state is taking too limited a role in leading or supporting school improvement efforts,” said the report, which examined how 17 states are implementing school improvement plans under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which was passed in 2015 and replaced the No Child Left Behind Act.

Both those federal laws task states with identifying and helping improve underperforming schools and with creating criteria to judge which schools are doing well. Illinois rolled out its new school accountability system in the Illinois Report Card late last month.

State officials disagree with the criticism.

“Illinois is being held up as a model for other states to follow,” said Ralph Grimm, chief education officer of Illinois, speaking at the monthly state board of education meeting on Friday. “The entire [state] team has to be commended for providing useful information.”

The state labeled 20 percent of schools “underperforming” or “low performing,” the only designations that could trigger state action. Intervention measures include improvement plans, visits from specialists, and additional funding. The state released its ratings just days after Chicago released its own batch of school ratings, which take into account a different set of metrics and a different standardized test.

Read the full article about Illinois school improvement by Yana Kunichoff at Chalkbeat