|
School Environment Matters: West
Lincoln-Broadwell ESD #92 Administers Illinois 5Essentials Survey to
Improve Student Learning
Students, teachers and parents weigh in
on school climate and learning conditions
Send a link to a friend
[February 19, 2025]
West Lincoln-Broadwell ESD #92 will join the
Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in the thirteenth statewide
survey of school climate and learning conditions. The survey
provides a unique opportunity for students, teachers and parents to
have a voice in improving their schools. From February 18, 2025-
March 28, 2025 students and teachers will be invited to participate
in a 30-minute research-based survey to help identify strengths and
weaknesses in their school’s learning environment. The parent survey
supplement will also be administered during the same survey window.
These surveys will serve as an opportunity for schools to reflect on
progress since the last statewide implementation.
|
|
 The
Illinois 5Essentials Survey provides a comprehensive picture of a
school’s organizational culture in an individualized report
measuring five “essentials” critical for school success:
- Effective Leaders
- Collaborative Teachers
- Involved Families
- Supportive Environment
- Ambitious Instruction
Over thirty years of research at the University of Chicago in more
than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least
three of the 5Essentials were 10 times more likely to make
substantial gains in improving student reading and math than schools
that were weak on three or more of the Essentials. Those differences
remained true even after controlling for student and school
characteristics, including poverty, race, gender, and neighborhood
characteristics. Strength on components within the Essentials also
correlated with increased teacher retention, student attendance,
college enrollment, and high school graduation.
Generated from a rigorous analysis of student and
teacher survey responses, 5Essentials Reports demonstrate that what
students and teachers say about their schools can serve as important
indicators for school success. In the inaugural 2012-2013 statewide
Illinois 5Essentials Survey, 87 percent of all schools in the state
met the 50-percent participation threshold to receive a 5Essentials
Report, with participation from more than 70 percent of all teachers
and eligible 6th through 12th graders across Illinois. Starting in
2018-19, fourth and fifth grade students were also included in the
5Essentials survey administration. In 2024, 93 percent of schools
qualified for a report.
[to top of second column] |
All district schools, including
alternative schools that fall under the district’s domain, are
required to participate in a school learning conditions survey
every year. Starting in school year 2018-19, the survey will be
required annually. The survey was deemed a key component to
balanced accountability under
the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan by
stakeholders, which resulted in state legislative changes
requiring the survey annually.
State legislation (105 ILCS 5/2-3.153) allows school districts
the option to select an alternative to the 5Essentials from a
pre-approved pool for the 2020-21 administration. Selection of
an alternative required school board and local union approval
and was at the district’s own expense. Details on survey
alternatives can be found on the State Board’s website
here.
West Lincoln-Broadwell ESD #92 has consistently participated in
the statewide 5Essentials Survey and is opting to administer the
survey to teachers and students again this year to continue
tracking and informing progress.
Principals and superintendents will receive their
5Essentials Reports in May. Survey results will also be reported
publicly on the UChicago Impact Reporting Website in June and on the
State School Report Card website in the fall. An optional parent
survey supplement is available to all schools as a supplement to the
5Essentials Survey for teachers and students—results from the parent
survey supplement will be included only in the individual school
5Essential Reports. Since 2013-14, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey
has been normed using the 2012-13 statewide results so that all
schools can demonstrate progress over time. This year, the Illinois
5Essentials Survey will be normed using the 2024 statewide results.
On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, UChicago Impact
is providing Illinois 5Essentials to schools statewide. Teachers,
students, and parents may complete the Illinois 5Essentials Survey
online. For more information visit:
www.5-essentials.org/illinois.
[Text received from
Heather Baker
Superintendent/Principal
West Lincoln-Broadwell ESD #92] |
