Coal City Elementary and Intermediate receive high marks on school report card

Coal City Elementary and Intermediate Schools have both received exemplary marks on the Illinois State School Report Card, according to a Thursday news release.

“We are proud of the results, but we are not done,” said Jennifer Kenney during a presentation on the 2024 Illinois Report Card, a document that takes a formulated look at how students are performing in the classroom compared to their peers across the state.

According to the news release, Coal City Elementary and Intermediate each rank among the top 10% of all elementary schools in the state.

“Congratulations to our elementary and intermediate schools on achieving an exemplary designation,” Superintendent Christopher Spencer said. “To be in the top 10 percent of schools across the state is impressive, and we are very proud of the students, faculty and staff.”

Coal City Early Childhood Center, Middle School and High School were designated as commendable, and the Early Childhood Center was one point away from earning an exemplary designation. The high school was four points away.

According to the Illinois St ate Board of Education, the designation describes how well a school is doing in meeting the students' needs.

Kenny said the elementary and middle school academic indicators total 75% including growth in both English/language arts and math. The remaining 25% is based on school quality and student success indicators that consist of a climate survey and chronic absenteeism that accounts for 20%.

Kenney said the intermediate school had a score of 91.31, the highest by any school in the 2023-24 school year. Fourth and fifth grade students were proficient in all areas compared to the st ate proficiency target, and fourth graders showed significant growth in English/language arts. There was a 21% increase in the number of students who met or exceeded state standards between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

The state test taken Spring 2024 showed 54% of fourth grade students met or exceeded standards in English/language arts, and 38% in math. Fifth grade students had the highest percentage of area schools with 68% meeting or exceeding state English/language arts standards and 50% in math.

“Overall, a great job by the fourth grade, and fifth grade always does a great job,” Kenney said.

Coal City Elementary posted a score of 84.56, and Kenney noted significant achievements by the school’s third grade students.

45% of students met or exceeded standards in English/language arts, the highest since 2019 and the highest among area grade schools.

“We are extremely proud of third grade,” said Kenney, who noted it was a grade level that struggled post-COVID. “Now 43 percent is still not where we want to be, we have a lot of work to do, yet we have definitely improved from the 20 percent in 2022, which is pretty low.”

Kenney said work being done by reading specialist Katie Ludes has been helping, and that English/language arts as shifted at lower grades more into the science of reading, and the district is seeing improvements.

Third grade students also posted higher math scores than the previous year, with 42% in the meets/exceeds category. Kenney said math is an area where the entire state is suffering.

“Looking specifically at our middle school data, the kids that are not in that meets or exceeds category are extremely close. One, two or three questions away from being considered proficient,” Kenney said.

Sixth grade students have 48% meeting or exceeding the standards set for math, which is well above the state average, and 49% of seventh grade students are meeting the standard. Eighth grade has 45% of its students meeting the standard, placing them in third among area schools.

The middle school’s score was 76.64.

The high school’s designation is based heavily on graduation rate, with a score of 87.5. That puts Coal City High School among the top 15% of Illinois high schools. The high school was around four points away from earning an exemplary rating.

32% of juniors met or exceeded the standards in math last year.

“Overall, among their local peers they ranked first, up from sixth the year before when just 20 percent hit the state benchmark for proficiency,” Kenney said.

Coal City saw 35% of its students meeting or exceeding standards in English/language arts compared to 22% the prior year, the largest percentage increase since before COVID. The high school ranked first in math and second in English/language arts among its peers.

“Articulation of curriculum between buildings is one thing we are going to attempt, starting at the top and working our way backwards to the lower grades,” Kenney said. The concept is to work with Joliet Junior College on what their requirements are for credit-bearing math and ELA courses to ensure students are learning what is needed, and along the way close any gaps as students move through the curriculum."

The district’s report card, as well as those of each academic building, can be viewed at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.