There are many assessment initiatives and policy changes happening in Illinois concerning learning and teaching expectations that involve K-12 students, teacher candidates, and current teachers. The Illinois State Board of Education has adopted new Math and English Language Arts standards for K-12 education known as the "New Illinois State…

One of the most persistent and urgent problems facing education policymakers is the provision of highly effective teachers in all of the nation's classrooms. Of all school-level factors related to student learning and achievement, the student's teacher is consistently the most important (Goldhaber 2002; Rockoff 2004; Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain…

The Illinois New Millennium Initiative (NMI) is a statewide team of accomplished, early-career teachers and educators focused on classroom- and community-based solutions to improve public schools. In virtual and face-to-face collaborations, the NMI works to connect research findings with its own teaching experiences in order to design policies and…

The answer to the question, Can evaluation improve teaching? is a qualified yes. Teacher evaluation has changed and the role of the principal has changed as well; the focus now is on evidence, not merely good judgment. With the right tools, systems, and support, it should be possible to help improve teaching performance and student learning…

In a very short period during the spring and summer of 2012, researchers at the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) and the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) collected data from respondents in five districts across Illinois to examine how school districts in the state approach designing and implementing new…

In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the nation's major law governing public schools. ESSA retains the requirement that states test all students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, as well as the requirement that…

This study responds to a request from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to analyze National Board certification among high school teachers in understudied subject areas and locales to help fill gaps in the research literature. The authors also were asked to use multiple indicators of performance. The research team selected two…

Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois offers a Master of Arts in Teaching and Leadership (MATL) degree program for certified teachers in the state of Illinois. This professional development program is provided through a partnership with Pearson Achievement Solutions. The program employs an action research model to guide teachers in…

Extensive education research on the contribution of teachers to student achievement produces two generally accepted results. First, teacher quality varies substantially as measured by the value added to student achievement or future academic attainment or earnings. Second, variables often used to determine entry into the profession and…

In developing criterion-referenced reading tests, staff in a Skokie (Illinois) school district answered parents' concerns about accountability, participated in a valuable inservice learning experience, and achieved coordination between elementary and junior high programs. (Author/WD)

This report presents the Illinois edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook." The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals…