Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Providing comprehensive reporting may be the state's most important role for ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers among schools. Illinois reports little school-level data that can help support the equitable distribution of teacher talent.
Illinois does not collect or publicly report most of the data recommended by NCTQ. The state does not provide a school-level teacher quality index that demonstrates the academic backgrounds of a school's teachers and the ratio of new to veteran teachers. Illinois also does not report teacher absenteeism or turnover rates.
Illinois does report on the percentage of teachers with emergency or provisional credentials as well as the percentage of highly qualified teachers. However, these data are reported at the district, rather than school, level. The state also reports on the average number of years of teacher experience at the school level. Illinois' Highly Qualified Teacher Plan, published in September 2006, compares the percentage of highly qualified teachers in high- and low-poverty schools statewide, but these data have not been updated.
Use a teacher quality index to report publicly about each school.
A teacher quality index, such as the one
developed by the Illinois Education Research Council, with data
including teachers' average SAT or ACT scores, the percentage of
teachers failing basic skills licensure tests at least once, the
selectivity of teachers' undergraduate colleges and the percentage of
new teachers, can shine a light on how equitably teachers are
distributed both across and within districts. Illinois
should ensure that individual school report cards include such data
in a manner that translates these factors into something easily
understood by the public, such as a color-coded matrix indicating a school's high or low score.
Publish other data that facilitate comparisons across schools.
Illinois should collect and report other school-level data that reflect the stability of a school's faculty, including the rates of teacher absenteeism and turnover.
Provide comparative data based on school demographics.
Ensure that data are current.
It is important to keep data updated and current
in order to provide the public with an accurate picture of
teacher distribution across schools in districts. Illinois should
update its comparison of the percentage of highly qualified teachers
in high-and low-poverty schools statewide, as the state has not done
so since 2006.
Report data at the school level.
Illinois should ensure that it is reporting all currently collected data at the school level, rather than aggregated by district.
Illinois recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. However, this analysis was updated subsequent to the state's review.