How Does Your School Measure Up?

Parents, teachers and students are invited to take a statewide survey aimed at identifying strengths and weaknesses at local schools. 

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey, run by the State Board of Education (ISBE), opened Feb. 1 and can be taken online through March 31.

It focuses on five essential components for school success: effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environment and ambitious instruction.

• Click here to take the survey

The survey will also be administered to students in the sixth through 12th grades.

Survey results will help Illinois “lead the nation in providing a unique opportunity to deliver more comprehensive and reliable information on how to improve schools that test scores alone simply cannot capture,” according to the survey website. “The end result will be a comprehensive user-friendly school report that offers a comprehensive picture of schools' strengths and weaknesses providing a clear pathway to improvement.”

The ISBE is offering the survey as the result of a new state law that requires it to conduct “a learning conditions survey” every other year, according to a document on the ISBE website.  

“While this survey may help inform state policy and improvement initiatives, it is primarily intended to help local administrators identify strengths and weaknesses at the district and school level and target the necessary resources and interventions. Aggregated data from this anonymous survey will also be shared with parents and the general public on school report cards,” the document said.