Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) –  Springfield Public Schools, among others, may be the beneficiary of a new Illinois State Board of Education policy that could, more fairly, judge schools based on factors within their control.

District Chief Achievement Officer, Jamar Scott, says up to now, schools have been compared to other schools in terms of learning.

“Instead of focusing on proficiency or growth…we have looked for the top ten percent, and we have looked for the bottom five,” said Scott, to the District 186 Board of Education last week.  “That bottom five percent is what pulls schools into our previous target.  If you had a group, or two groups that were in the bottom five percent, you became targeted, or you became ‘comprehensive.’  If you stayed there for a long time, four years or more, you became ‘intensive.'”

Scott says the state’s new evaluation model is based more on specific criteria, and that any improvement could be recognized.

“We couldn’t get quite to ‘exemplary.’  We had some schools that got really, really, really close.  We’ve had years where a school was two tenths of a point away from being proficient — two tenths away,” said Scott.  “We do have schools doing phenomenal some work consistently.  We have every school putting in their best effort to change outcomes for students.”

Scott says there weren’t many administrator anywhere that thought such a way was a good idea.

District 186 officials say they’re glad the Illinois State Board of Education took a lot of the suggestions they received from administrators to the heart.  Evaluations done this coming school year will be the baseline for future years.