School Status

Illinois schools receive both state and federal designations for their status. On IIRC, the following icons indicate school status:

AYP Status
or Yes	Made AYP
or No	Did not make AYP
State Sanctions
AEWS	Academic Early Warning means expanded state requirements and services
AWS	Academic Watch adds more requirements and services; can result in state takeover if school does not improve
Illinois Honor Roll Awards
Spolight Schools	High poverty, high performing schools
Academic Improvement	Significant increase in achievement over time
Academic Excellence	Sustained high performance over time
Federal Sanctions
Years in School Improvement	Schools that do not make AYP for two years are classified as "in school improvement" and eligible for sanctions.
CH: Choice	Must offer families the choice to move students to more successful schools
CS: Choice plus Supplemental Educational Services	Must offer choice, plus supplemental educational services such as tutoring.
CA: Corrective Action	Schools in corrective action must work with external experts to improve.
RS: Restructuring	Must plan for restructuring if no improvements occur.

State and Federal Sanctions

State and federal sanctions for schools that do not make adequate yearly progress appear with more detail in this Accountability System Chart.

State Awards - Illinois Honor Roll

The Illinois State Board of Education in partnership with Northern Illinois University delivers three kinds of awards to recognize schools that demonstrate exemplary academic performance. The Illinois Honor Roll website displays criteria for the awards.

    Spotlight Schools

The Illinois State Board of Education gives the honorary designation "Spotlight Schools" to high poverty, high performing schools that excel in closing the achievement gap. In 2011, 167 schools in Illinois achieved "Spotlight Schools" status. See list of Spotlight Schools

Criteria for selecting these schools are rigorous. All schools must be making Adequate Yearly Progress. At least half the students are from low-income families, and at least 70% must be passing the state achievement tests in both reading and mathematics. Located throughout the state in urban, suburban, and rural locations, the Spotlight Schools exhibit achievements that are contrary to the conventional wisdom that test scores will reflect demographics despite local efforts. They demonstrate that low-income students and schools with limited resources can show impressive academic performance.

    The Academic Improvement Awards recognized 114 schools in 2011 that have sustained an upward trend in test scores for at least two years and showed a 7.5 point increase over the prior year or a 15 point increase over the prior two years.

Located throughout the state, the award-winners represent every type of school - large and small; elementary, middle, and high schools; both regular and charter schools; all funding levels; urban, suburban, and rural; low-performing and high-performing. They demonstrate that exemplary progress is possible at every level and can be sustained over time. See list of Academic Improvement Award schools

    The Academic Excellence Awards honored 438 schools that have sustained a high level of achievement for at least two years. In elementary schools, at least 90% of students met or exceeded state standards. At the high school level, 80% of students passed the Prairie State Achievement Exam over three years.

See map of school locations. Just over 10% are schools for the gifted and talented. All others are regular public schools that achieve and maintain academic excellence that meets or exceeds the best in the U.S.

All Academic Excellence schools achieved Adequate Yearly Progress for the last three years.