Photo of four banners on the steps of the board office building. The banners say "Illinois commendable school mattoon high school Illinois State Board of Education", "Illinois commendable school. Mattoon Middle School. Illinois State Board of Education", "Illinois Commendable School. Williams Elementary School. Illinois State Board of Education", "Illinois Commendable School. Riddle Elementary School. Illinois State Board of Education."

The 2024 Illinois Report Card was published on October 30, 2024. The Illinois Report Card is the state's official source for information about public schools across Illinois. The information helps individuals act as informed partners in the education of children. Families, researchers, policy makers, and community members can use the site to find school data, including academic performance, school environment, educators, students, and highlights provided by principals. 

For a breakdown on the 2024 Illinois Report Card, please see the resources below.

For additional information on how to understand the Mattoon CUSD #2 Report card results, please reach out to Dr. Christy Hild, Director of Programming for the district at christyhild@mcusd2.com.

Below are some of the highlights for the district:

All Four Mattoon CUSD #2 School Sites Listed in the Report Card are Now Designated as Commendable     

For the first time in six years, all Mattoon CUSD #2 schools earned a Commendable Rating from the Illinois State Board of Education, thanks to aligned improvement efforts from the district, building, department, teacher, and student levels. 

The 2024 Illinois Report Card is a snapshot of school performance data from the 2023-24 school year. The state’s rating for all schools is based on multiple metrics, including academic growth, proficiency, attendance, and graduation rate, for which schools earn a number of points.  Riddle Elementary School, Williams Elementary School, and Mattoon Middle School’s total points increased significantly, with all three joining Mattoon High School in the Commendable category. 

This pie chart explains the metrics evaluated at each school.

Illinois began issuing annual summative designations to schools in 2018 as part of a new accountability system. The designations were paused in 2020 and 2021 due to federal waivers, but resumed in 2022. These annual designations recognize schools with strong overall performance across a range of academic and student success indicators, which are the factors the school district has focused on during their improvement efforts since the pandemic. 

Exceptional Student Growth in ELA and Math - Growth Rate Above State Average

In grades 3-8, the largest component for school designation is student growth, accounting for 50% of the overall score. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, the weight of this metric is because “Growth is responsive to changes in classroom structures and practices.” 

Growth in MCUSD #2 schools outpaced the state in both English Language Arts and Math.  This means Mattoon students made more progress in English Language Arts and Math than peers across the state with similar starting points. 

See this document for greater understanding on how student growth is calculated.

Ongoing Growth and Improvement

While the district celebrates this recognition from the state, they are not quite satisfied.  Improvement efforts for the 2024-2025 school year began in May of 2024 with analysis of data and establishing targets for improvement, with goals already on display at each campus.  

All buildings, departments, teachers, and students have targeted strategies for reading, math, attendance, and behavior. This year, the high school has an additional goal targeting graduation rate as part of their annual school improvement plan, which dipped to 81%, down from an average of mid-90s.

In addition to the graduation rate, the district is focused on reducing chronic absenteeism. MCUSD #2 saw a reduction from 31% in the prior year, with strengthened systems to support students and families by responding to absences as they occur at lower levels. The plan includes interventions as early as three absences, with the intent of communicating support and engagement.       

The district will take summative exams in the spring of 2025 and their other metrics will be finalized in May of 2025 for their next report card rating.