How will ISBE’s Updated Proficiency Benchmarks affect ECRA data?
As you may be aware, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is in the process of updating proficiency benchmarks, with final decisions expected this fall. As the process continues at the state level, it’s important to understand how these changes impact results reported through the ECRA School Improvement application.
Student Growth Results
Changes to proficiency benchmarks will not impact student growth. Student growth results will be equivalent under the current proficiency benchmarks and under the new proficiency benchmarks. This means that your underlying district growth models remain stable and valid. As a result, growth scores can be used with confidence to inform instructional decisions and monitor student progress, even as the state changes proficiency benchmarks.
Student Proficiency Results
At this time, the state has not published new proficiency benchmarks, and those decisions are not expected until Fall 2025. Therefore, ECRA will use the existing proficiency benchmarks to calculate student proficiency for 2025 and projected proficiency for 2026. Once the state releases new proficiency benchmarks, ECRA will update the ECRISS platform to ensure alignment, and provide an updated set of 2026 proficiency projections using the new benchmarks.
Should you have any additional questions, please reach out to our support desk via support@ecragroup.com.
