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The Illinois State Board of Education is preparing to implement a new accountability system in the 2026-2027 school year. During the September meeting, Jennifer Kenney, director of curriculum and instruction for Coal City Community Unit School District 1, informed board members about changes that will place greater emphasis on student achievement and remove some factors currently used in state designations.
Kenney described the process as “right siding the proficiency standards.” She participated in reviewing and developing new cut scores for state assessments after learning about plans to lower these scores.
“When I first heard they were going to lower cut scores it threw me off a bit, were we going to be dumbing down the test, what are we doing in Illinois” she said. What Kenney found through her involvement was a movement to align the scores to student proficiency.
Her working group focused on sixth, seventh and eighth grade math. They examined test scores, common core standards, and definitions of proficiency.
“Instead of just lowering them we looked at what our tests were and what the proficiency cut scores were, and then we went from there and had great discussions on how that applies to students, what a cut score really is, is a student really on track and are they where they are supposed to be,” Kenney said, noting it was a great process.
Kenney explained that some high-achieving students have been labeled not proficient based on current testing metrics despite their strong academic records.
“There are some students that really stand out and when we look at our students, you can handpick these students and know they are proficient, but the state says they are not,” she shared with the Board.
As a result of this work, cut scores for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness—English/language arts (ELA) and math—for grades three through eight have been lowered. In contrast, science assessment cut scores for fifth and eighth graders increased by 13 points from 799 to 812. ELA cut scores now range between 745-735 (previously 750), while math ranges between 745-732 (also previously 750). The largest changes occur at lower grade levels.
ACT proficiency cut scores have also been set: freshmen must score 14 in ELA/science and 17 in math; sophomores need 15 ELA, 18 math, and 16 science; juniors require an ELA score of 18 and math/science score of 19. Kenney stated these levels project college success.
These adjustments will appear in testing data released by the state board later this fall.
“We are eager to share the latest state accountability results with you. Although we remain in a moratorium and cannot officially release the data, the results are promising,” said Kenney.
She added that redesigned school report cards focusing more on proficiency and growth will be presented starting fall 2026.
Other actions at the September meeting included acceptance of a $500 grant from the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement Foundation for seventh grade English/language arts teacher Brenna Noffsinger’s classroom novels purchase. The board accepted resignations from Megan Blanton (Early Childhood Center aide) and Lisa Johnson (intermediate school health aide), hired Carmen Kinder as elementary reading interventionist; Melanie Hawkins as health aide for elementary/intermediate schools; Katherine Cash as cafeteria worker at Early Childhood Center; approved Katie Ludes’s transfer to district EL coordinator/interventionist; amended Tina Vignocchi’s retirement date; approved coaching assignments recommended by athletic directors Rodney Monbrum (middle school) and Brad Boresi (high school); approved Tracy Schmitz as mentor teacher; approved partnership donations; introduced new certified staff members; reported August enrollment at 2,079 students; noted nearly half of high schoolers participate in sports or marching band.
Coal City Community Unit School District 1 covers Grundy and Will counties. It includes Coal City Early Childhood Center, Coal City Elementary School, Coal City High School, Coal City Intermediate School, and Coal City Middle School https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/. The district has an enrollment makeup that is approximately 86.9 percent White with smaller percentages identifying as Hispanic (9.6 percent), Black (0.6 percent), or Asian (0.6 percent) https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/. There are currently about 153 teachers earning an average salary of $69,297 before pension contributions; most teachers are women https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/. In fiscal year 2020 total spending per student was $21,619 https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for October 1 at the District Administration Center with a study session planned for September 17.
