5Essentials Survey 2023

Illinois 5Essentials Survey
Posted on 03/02/2023
Illinois 5Essentials Survey

Fairview District 72 will join the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in the eleventh statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions. The survey provides a unique opportunity for students, teachers and parents to have a voice in improving their schools. Students and teachers have been asked to take a 25 -minute research-based survey to help identify strengths and weaknesses in their school’s learning environment. The parent survey supplement will also be administered. These surveys will serve as an opportunity for schools to reflect on progress since the last statewide implementation.


“As a District, we are always seeking community input on the programs, curriculum and activities we offer our diverse Kindergarten through 8th grade student population. This is one way to engage with the District that all parents can participate in!” - Superintendent Whittaker

 

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey provides a comprehensive picture of a school’s organizational culture in an individualized report measuring five “essentials” critical for school success:

 

  • Effective Leaders
  • Collaborative Teachers
  • Involved Families
  • Supportive Environment
  • Ambitious Instruction

Twenty years of research at the University of Chicago in more than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of the 5Essentials were 10 times more likely to make substantial gains in improving student reading and math than schools that were weak on three or more of the Essentials. Those differences remained true even after controlling for student and school characteristics, including poverty, race, gender, and neighborhood characteristics. Strength on components within the Essentials also correlated with increased teacher retention, student attendance, college enrollment, and high school graduation.

 

Generated from a rigorous analysis of student and teacher survey responses, 5Essentials Reports demonstrate that what students and teachers say about their schools can serve as important indicators for school success. In the inaugural 2012-2013 statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey, 87 percent of all schools in the state met the 50-percent participation threshold to receive a 5Essentials Report, with participation from more than 70 percent of all teachers and eligible 6th through 8th graders across Illinois.  Starting in 2018-19, 4th and 5th grade students were also included in the 5Essentials survey administration.

 

All district schools, including alternative schools that fall under the district’s domain, are required to participate in a school learning conditions survey every year. Starting in the 2018-19 school year, the survey will be required annually. The survey was deemed an important component to balanced accountability under the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan by stakeholders, which resulted in state legislative changes requiring the survey annually.

 

Fairview District 72 has consistently participated in the statewide 5Essentials Survey and is opting to administer the survey to teachers and students again this year to continue tracking and informing progress.

 

Principals and superintendents will receive their 5Essentials Reports in May 2023. Survey results will also be reported publicly on the 5Essentials reporting site in Spring 2023 and on the State School Report Card website in Fall 2023. An optional parent survey supplement is again available to all schools as a supplement to the 5Essentials Survey for teachers and students—results from the parent survey supplement will be included only in the individual school 5Essentials Reports. Since 2013-14, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey has been normed using the 2012-13 statewide results so that all schools can demonstrate progress over time.

 

On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, UChicago Impact is providing Illinois 5Essentials to schools statewide. Teachers, students, and parents may complete the Illinois 5Essentials Survey online. For more information visit: www.5-essentials.org/illinois.