This morning the Illinois State Board of Education released the 2022 School Report Card. The School Report Card provides a variety of information about public schools across Illinois. Student academic performance, district demographics, and financial data are all a part of this report card. You may access the full school report card at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.
Student Academic Performance
Student academic performance is measured in several ways. The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) is the state assessment and accountability measure for Illinois elementary and middle school students enrolled in a public school district. The IAR assesses the Illinois Learning Standards and is administered in mathematics and English language arts to all students in grades 3-8. There are five performance levels for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness:
Level 5: Exceeded expectations
Level 4: Met expectations
Level 3: Approached expectations
Level 2: Partially met expectations
Level 1: Did not yet meet expectations
The tables below detail the performance of Mokena students on the IAR. The tables also include each school’s percentile rank against other elementary or middle schools in Will County and across the State of Illinois.
Mathematics Performance | % of students that met or exceeded expectations | Will County Percentile Rank | State of Illinois Percentile Rank |
Mokena Elementary School | 56.9% | 96 | 92 |
Mokena Intermediate School | 52.4% | 91 | 88 |
Mokena Junior High School | 39.6% | 81 | 83 |
On this year’s IAR assessment the percentage of District 159 students that met or exceeded expectations in mathematics rose by 5.5% in comparison to 2021. Mathematics performance in 2022 was the same as it was in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we still feel as though we have a lot of room to improve, Mokena can celebrate the fact that our students seem to have rebounded from the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had in regards to mathematics.
English Language Arts (ELA) Performance | % of students that met or exceeded expectations | Will County Percentile Rank | State of Illinois Percentile Rank |
Mokena Elementary School | 36.9% | 64 | 68 |
Mokena Intermediate School | 40.0% | 73 | 73 |
Mokena Junior High School | 43.0% | 68 | 74 |
Mokena School District 159 is working to improve student achievement in English language arts in several ways. A staff committee is reviewing new rigorous curriculum resources for English language arts instruction with the goal of implementing these new resources in the Fall of 2023. Each school has a school improvement goal related to literacy or writing for the 2022-2023 school year. Finally, a new phonics instruction program has been introduced this year in grades K-5 to help improve our students’ foundational reading skills.
Illinois also administers a federally required science assessment to all students in fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade. The Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards and the Illinois Learning Standards for Science. There are four performance levels for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness:
Level 4: Exemplary
Level 3: Proficient
Level 2: Developing
Level 1: Emerging
The table below details the performance of Mokena 159 students on the ISA. The table also includes each school’s percentile rank against other elementary or middle schools in Will County and across the State of Illinois.
Illinois Science Assessment Performance | % of students Exemplary or Proficient | Will County Percentile Rank | State of Illinois Percentile Rank |
Mokena Intermediate School | 68.7% | 83 | 79 |
Mokena Junior High School | 82.8% | 96 | 97 |
School Summative Designations
All Illinois Public schools receive an annual summative designation on the Illinois Report Card. The four possible designations are Exemplary, Commendable, Targeted Support, and Comprehensive Support. The designation is based on the school’s overall data as well as the data for individual student groups. Each of the three Mokena 159 schools have been designated as COMMENDABLE for 2022. Below is a breakdown of how the data from each school is weighted in order to produce a summative designation ranking:
* - Indicates a measure that will not be implemented until 2025
Individual student growth from year to year in ELA and mathematics is the most heavily weighted factor in a school’s summative designation. Overall proficiency is less heavily weighted. In 2022 Mokena students grew at a faster rate when compared to the state average across nearly all demographic groups. More information on how a summative designation is reached can be found here:
https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Report-Card-2022-Support-Accountability-Fact-Sheet.pdf
District Financial Data
In addition to the data on student performance, the District’s financial data is noteworthy as well. The growth and achievement of our students comes at a value to the taxpayers of our community. The Mokena Board of Education has a track record of being fiscally responsible with taxpayer resources. The District’s administrative team has the responsibility of ensuring that resources are allocated properly by instituting needs-based, results-focused budgeting. The charts below compare Mokena’s operating expenses per pupil to the state average. Our Instructional Spending Per Student includes only the activities directly dealing with the teaching of students or the interaction between teachers and students. The Operational Spending Per Student includes nearly all costs for overall operations in a district, including maintenance, transportation, and technology infrastructure, just to name a few.
A conservative approach to expenditures makes it possible for Mokena School District 159 to have the lowest property tax rate of any of the elementary school districts in the Lincoln-Way area and the second lowest in Will County. In comparison to similarly sized elementary school districts in Will County, Mokena taxpayers save over $500 annually in property taxes. When you combine the District’s fiscal responsibility with our students’ academic performance, Mokena residents and families get a great return on their investment.
As a District we will continue to strive to improve student achievement and build upon our past successes. We have a strategic plan for growth based upon data and the input of our stakeholders that guides our efforts. We are fortunate to have a dedicated, talented, and caring faculty and staff who go above and beyond every day for our students. For more information about Mokena School District 159 please contact Dr. Mark Cohen, Superintendent, at cohenm@mokena159.org.