{"id":3719,"date":"2026-02-11T18:01:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T18:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/?p=3719"},"modified":"2026-03-26T19:54:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:54:02","slug":"still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/our-stories\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Still Confused about the School Accountability System Changes?\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\n.entry-title {display:none;}\n<\/style>\n\n\n<div  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-860175\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style1 ultp-heading-center\"><h1 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span>Still Confused about the School Accountability System Changes?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>MARCH UPDATE:<\/strong> Unfortunately, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.isbe.net\/Documents\/ESSA-Amendment-5-Final-Draft.pdf\">final accountability system draft<\/a> has been released and discussed at the March ISBE meeting and it looks like it\u2019s a done deal. We are disappointed that we are losing the indicators for ninth-grade on-track and college and career readiness, and that schools with 50-point achievement gaps can still receive the highest rating. The one glimmer of hope we have lies in this sentence: \u201cISBE remains committed to exploring the possibility of additional elevating indicators in the future, particularly in the area of college and career readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Our last ask is for ISBE to develop a clear timeline for developing a valid college and career readiness indicator to incorporate within three years.<\/u><\/strong> Without intentionality, that \u201ccommit[ment] to exploring\u201d other indicators means little. Illinois already tracks lots of data that could feed into this metric, like Career and Technical Education concentration, Dual Credits, AP Tests passed, Freshmen-on-Track rates, and Seals of Biliteracy. Forty-two other states have figured this out and included some kind of college and career readiness metric. It\u2019s not just about graduating; it\u2019s about preparing students for what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">If college and career readiness matters to you, <strong><u><a href=\"https:\/\/act.stand.org\/a\/isbe-college-readiness?sourceid=1134186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">would you take a minute to sign this petition<\/a>?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-circular-shadow\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-standart-blue-color has-cyan-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/act.stand.org\/a\/isbe-college-readiness?sourceid=1134186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign the Petition!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">In November, we shared <a href=\"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/our-stories\/confused-about-isbes-accountability-system-overhaul\/\">our thoughts on proposed changes<\/a> to Illinois\u2019 school accountability system.\u00a0<s>Since then, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.isbe.net\/Documents\/Accountability-Redesign-Round-III-Listening-Tour.pdf\">released another version<\/a>.\u00a0Next month, the third and final draft will be out \u2013\u00a0<strong>so we have one month to act!<\/strong><\/s><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Sign up with your email to stay\u00a0informed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-circular-shadow\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-standart-blue-color has-cyan-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/act.stand.org\/a\/join-stand-il-essa?sourceid=1134186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stay Informed<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"Whatsan_Accountability_System\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-99711b\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style7 ultp-heading-left\"><h1 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong>What\u2019s\u00a0an \u201cAccountability System\u201d?<\/strong><\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"Whatsan_Accountability_System\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-8cef8c\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong>What\u2019s\u00a0an \u201cAccountability System\u201d?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Think of the state\u2019s accountability system as a grading system for schools. Every state in the country must have one.&nbsp;You\u2019ve&nbsp;probably heard&nbsp;of \u201cNo Child Left Behind\u201d&nbsp;(\u201cNCLB\u201d),&nbsp;which was replaced by the \u201cEvery Student Succeeds Act\u201d (\u201cESSA\u201d) a decade ago.&nbsp;NCLB&nbsp;had lots of problems,&nbsp;perhaps the&nbsp;biggest flaw being that schools were graded on just one thing: how many kids passed the test. (And that, of course,&nbsp;doesn\u2019t&nbsp;tell us much about the contributions of the school&nbsp;to student learning because test scores are so correlated to family income.)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, we celebrated when NCLB was replaced by ESSA, which looked at lots of other ingredients of school quality. States had more flexibility to decide what to consider and how to support schools to improve.&nbsp;(We got to do my favorite work project ever: this \u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/our-stories\/a-better-recipe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cake video<\/a>!&nbsp;In fact, if you prefer to get all your ESSA news via recipe videos, click here to jump to the bottom of the blog where we have linked all the recent&nbsp;ones.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"Why_should_we_care\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-fd7814\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong>Why should we care?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Every school is going to be held to these standards and receive a rating label based on their performance, so it is super important for us to measure what matters. For parents and communities, this information is often the most accessible way to see how well local schools are doing. If we give schools their&nbsp;grade&nbsp;based on things they&nbsp;can\u2019t&nbsp;control (much like the NCLB era), communities see a distorted picture of the influence of the school. But if we have a well-designed system that measures outcomes accurately, schools are incentivized to focus on improvement and families&nbsp;get a transparent look at school quality.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"Are_the_changes_goodSome_of_them\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-3940f7\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style7 ultp-heading-left\"><h1 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong>Are the changes good?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0(Some of them!\u00a0)\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"Criterion-Based_Scoring\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-13de01\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong>Criterion-Based Scoring<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Everyone&nbsp;we\u2019ve&nbsp;heard from really likes that the proposed system is based on clear goals instead of ranking schools against each other. The system in place now&nbsp;ranks&nbsp;the top ten percent of schools for the highest rating category, which leaves schools complaining about changing goalposts.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"Clear_Summative_Labels\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-9ad4d6\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong>Clear Summative Labels<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The current system ranks 70% of schools as \u201cCommendable,\u201d which&nbsp;doesn\u2019t&nbsp;tell us a whole lot. The proposed changes split schools into five rating categories with more clarity in the labels. Draft #1 included the labels: Exemplary, Commendable, Approaching, Developing, and Comprehensive, but many were concerned that they would drop from their prior \u201cCommendable\u201d rating. The newest draft names the labels: Exemplary, Approaching Exemplary, Commendable, Developing, and Comprehensive.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"Some_Valuable_Indicators_Included\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-698cba\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong><strong>Some Valuable Indicators Included<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We appreciate the continued focus on academic growth and reducing chronic absenteeism.&nbsp;(We continue to have concerns with some of the indicators that ISBE is proposing eliminating though.)<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"Graduation_Rate_Tied_to_Growth_and_Proficiency\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-bfa973\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong><strong>Graduation Rate Tied to Growth and Proficiency<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The&nbsp;proposed&nbsp;system would be based on three \u201ccore indicators\u201d for high schools (proficiency, growth, and graduation rate) and two for elementary (proficiency&nbsp;and growth), with three \u201celevating indicators\u201d (English Learner growth, consistent attendance rate, and climate survey participation). The&nbsp;first draft&nbsp;based&nbsp;the rating on whichever of the core indicators is highest \u2013 which is&nbsp;almost always&nbsp;graduation rate. We and&nbsp;other&nbsp;expressed concerns that graduation rate would mask other student performance indicators, so ISBE addressed this in the new draft, now tying graduation rate to growth or&nbsp;proficiency&nbsp;so graduation rate alone would not&nbsp;determine&nbsp;the final rating.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:52px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"Whats_Concerning\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-98e916\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style7 ultp-heading-left\"><h1 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong>What\u2019s Concerning?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:19px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"It_Gives_Upon_College_andCareer_Readiness_Indicators\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-a8eb5f\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>It Gives Up\u00a0on College and\u00a0Career Readiness Indicators<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The current system&nbsp;was designed to include&nbsp;more robust indicators assessing students\u2019 readiness for graduation, post-secondary education, and career, but the agency was never able to successfully incorporate those.&nbsp;This is disappointing because graduation alone&nbsp;isn\u2019t&nbsp;the goal. Students need meaningful high school experiences that prepare them for their future. Even if the design&nbsp;of the metric&nbsp;didn\u2019t&nbsp;work out, ISBE collects lots of data about early college credit, career pathway completion, and seal of biliteracy attainment \u2013 all of which would be great additions to the system.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"Freshman-on-Track_Goes_Away\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-1762e6\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>Freshman-on-Track Goes Away<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Freshman-on-track is an incredibly powerful metric, with strong research originating from the Consortium for Chicago School Research showing that students who were \u2018on-track\u2019 in 9<sup>th<\/sup>\u202fgrade were four times more likely to graduate. Chicago was the home of this measure, with a strong focus on freshman-on-track rates driving a large part of CPS\u2019s huge rise in graduation rates over the last 25 years.&nbsp;ISBE says freshman-on-track too closely tracks with graduation rate to be a meaningful indicator. We&nbsp;disagree:&nbsp;freshman-on-track rates change three years before graduation rates, so it gives an earlier&nbsp;indication&nbsp;of changes. It also sends the wrong signal to remove it as an accountability indicator.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"Student_Demographic_Groups_Only_Influence_the_Outcome_ifTheresa_Huge_Gap\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-b6953f\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>Student Demographic Groups Only Influence the Outcome if\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0a Huge Gap<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">If a student group (like low-income students, Black students, white students, students with IEPs, etc.) scores in the lowest rating category, the final rating moves down one notch. But if a student group falls in the second-to-lowest category, there is&nbsp;not&nbsp;penalty. This could mean a&nbsp;school still scores \u201cExemplary,\u201d even with a 50-point&nbsp;gap in&nbsp;among student groups. We believe the final rating category should never be higher than&nbsp;two&nbsp;rating categories above the lowest-rated student group.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"IndicatorsDontFactor_in_Growth\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-3a8595\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style6 ultp-heading-left\"><h3 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>Indicators\u00a0Don\u2019t\u00a0Factor in Growth<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The \u201cconsistent attendance\u201d (i.e., inverse of chronic absenteeism) metric&nbsp;sorts&nbsp;schools into categories based on whether they hit certain attendance benchmarks. For example, if over 85% of high school students are consistent attendees, the school is \u2018Exemplary.\u2019 If 70% \u2013 85% are consistent attendees, the school is \u2018Approaching Exemplary.\u2019 (Keep in mind here that 70% is five points\u202f<em>lower<\/em>\u202fthan state average.) If fewer than 40% of students are consistent attendees, the school is \u2018Comprehensive.\u2019 But if a school grows its consistent attendance rate from 70% to 80%, the system does not recognize that.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:52px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"What_Can_I_Do\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-85e79c\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style7 ultp-heading-left\"><h1 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span><strong><strong><strong>What Can I Do?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">First, please <a href=\"https:\/\/act.stand.org\/a\/isbe-college-readiness?sourceid=1134186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sign this petition<\/a> calling for the Illinois State Board of Education to adopt reasonable policies surrounding college and career readiness indicators and community involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Next, spread the word! Share this blog or any of our videos on social media, ask your friends or colleagues to join you at a listening session, give public comment at the March 11 ISBE Board Meeting, or reach out to us if you have any questions about the content or process.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"Related_Resources\"  class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-heading ultp-block-57b354\"><div class=\"ultp-block-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-heading-wrap ultp-heading-style7 ultp-heading-left\"><h1 class=\"ultp-heading-inner\"><span>Watch to Learn More<\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ESSA | A better recipe for Illinois Schools\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VM4oR8A546U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-row ultp-block-2d2e1f\"><div class=\"ultp-row-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-row-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-column ultp-block-d42f6e\"><div class=\"ultp-column-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"960\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 540 \/ 960;\" width=\"540\" controls src=\"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/02\/iPeo_RFg7ItiS8SX.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-column ultp-block-2c65e6\"><div class=\"ultp-column-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"568\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 320 \/ 568;\" width=\"320\" controls src=\"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/02\/l06PF5dfJjWc63ko.mp4\" playsinline><\/video><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-column ultp-block-58a597\"><div class=\"ultp-column-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1280\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 720 \/ 1280;\" width=\"720\" controls src=\"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/02\/68mh96up_M-x7Fex.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-column ultp-block-f853ae\"><div class=\"ultp-column-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1280\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 720 \/ 1280;\" width=\"720\" controls src=\"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/02\/Daz8AcQRCUca1ABa.mp4\" playsinline><\/video><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MARCH UPDATE: Unfortunately, the final accountability system draft has been released and discussed at the March ISBE meeting and it looks like it\u2019s a done deal. We are disappointed that we are losing the indicators for ninth-grade on-track and college and career readiness, and that schools with 50-point achievement gaps can still receive the highest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","color_schema":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Still Confused about the School Accountability System Changes?\u00a0\u00a0 - Stand for Children Illinois<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Huge changes have been proposed by the Illinois State Board of Education regarding the school accountability system\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/our-stories\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Still Confused about the School Accountability System Changes?\u00a0\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Huge changes have been proposed by the Illinois State Board of Education regarding the school accountability system\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/our-stories\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stand for Children Illinois\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/standillinois\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T18:01:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-26T19:54:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jyoung\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@illinoisstand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@illinoisstand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jyoung\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stand.org\\\/illinois\\\/our-stories\\\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stand.org\\\/illinois\\\/our-stories\\\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jyoung\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stand.org\\\/illinois\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ebd4c7b0a874d41381439f2d1ad910be\"},\"headline\":\"Still Confused about the School Accountability System Changes?\u00a0\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-11T18:01:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-26T19:54:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stand.org\\\/illinois\\\/our-stories\\\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1316,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stand.org\\\/illinois\\\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stand.org\\\/illinois\\\/our-stories\\\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stand.org\\\/illinois\\\/our-stories\\\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stand.org\\\/illinois\\\/our-stories\\\/still-confused-about-the-school-accountability-system-changes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Still Confused about the School Accountability System Changes?\u00a0\u00a0 - 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