We look forward to our Illinois Report Card results every year to celebrate student growth and find ways to continue improving. In this annual assessment, each IL school receives one of five designations.
This year, two of our schools were rated exemplary and three commendable according to the state’s performance levels. Blythe Park and Hauser are our exemplary schools, ranked in the top 10% of all Illinois schools. Ames, Central, and Hollywood received the next best designation of commendable. The difference in designations is not cause for concern, as the student experience in an exemplary and commendable school is very similar.
To learn more about these ratings and student testing data, tune in to our November 5 Committee of the Whole meeting to hear from Dr. Angela Dolezal, Director of Teaching & Learning. Join us in person at Ames at 7:00pm or watch it live or recorded on YouTube.
Superintendent's Message, November 7, 2025:
On October 30, the Illinois State Board of Education released the Illinois School Report Card, which shares performance designations for every public school in the state. These designations are based on a variety of academic and student success indicators. We reviewed each school’s performance at the November 5 Committee of the Whole meeting presented by Director of Teaching and Learning Angela Dolezal. I’m excited to share highlights from this year’s report.
Performance Designations: All five schools received a rating of Exemplary or Commendable, the two highest ratings.
High Achievement Maintained: Reading and math achievement remain well above national norms, with most grade levels scoring in the 85th-95th percentile range.
Sustained Growth Over Time: For three consecutive years, all grades have exceeded the national median growth percentile in both reading and math.
Family Partnerships: Engaged family partnerships show strengthened student success and ensure high attendance.
While we celebrate these positive trends, the Report Card also guides our continued improvement efforts. Areas of focus moving forward include increasing our student growth percentiles and implementing more professional learning and coaching for classroom engagement, math instruction, and our elementary language arts curriculum, Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA).
Thank you to our families, staff, and community partners for your continued support of District 96 students and schools. Together, we are empowering learners for life.