Learning Renewal
In partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
In partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
These reports explore Learning Renewal in Illinois after the COVID-19 pandemic disruption to schooling. We study how important student outcomes, including test scores, attendance and enrollment, have shifted since the pandemic and what districts have done to address these shifts. We also study how emergency federal spending (“ESSER spending”) was used in Illinois and how districts prioritized spending across all waves. Finally, we explore the relation between ESSER spending and student learning outcomes, and we identify and highlight the strategies of districts with higher bounce-back learning rates.
In this report, we use student-level data to explore patterns of renewal across three key student outcomes: state test scores (IAR for Grades 3-8 and SAT for Grade 11), enrollment, and attendance. We investigate how these patterns varied across student characteristics (e.g., eligibility for free or reduced priced lunch, English learner status, race/ethnicity) and grade level (elementary vs. middle school vs. high school).
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were provided to states and school districts across the nation to support schools during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on ESSER spending reported by Illinois school districts, this report analyzes and classifies districts’ spending across time into five categories. We also explore differences in spending across different types of districts.
Towards a more detailed view of districts’ learning renewal practices, this report describes how 81 Illinois school districts tackled disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings come from a survey of district leadership on strategies for learning renewal, including staffing and interventions that took place during or prior to School Year 2021-2022. The report identifies common strategies and differences in strategy use across different types of districts (by size, urbanicity, and overall funding level).
This report provides a first look at how Illinois school districts’ uses of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were related to their test score outcomes in the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, we overviewed the varying patterns of learning renewal in SY22 after changes from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the diverse range of practices employed by districts in Illinois across two successful recovery groups.
Graduate Research Associate, IWERC