October 30, 2023
![October 30, 2023](https://cdn.smore.com/u/thumbs/02d7/thumb-8cbb8a2e61c5ee0409e4e51086afadb5.png)
October 30, 2023
Dear District 115 Families and Community Members,
Earlier today, our Lake Forest Community High School (LFHS) 2023 Illinois Report Card results were made available to the public. The Illinois Report Card is an annual report released by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) that shows how the state, each school, and each district are progressing on a wide range of educational goals.
Exemplary Summative Designation
Illinois schools receive an annual summative designation on the Illinois Report Card, as required by federal accountability laws. Summative Designations are calculated by assigning each school points for every accountability indicator, such as graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and academic growth. The indicators are weighted, meaning each indicator is worth a different number of total possible points. You may find detailed information about ISBE summative designations here.
It is with Scout pride that I share that Lake Forest Community High School (LFHS) has once again earned an "Exemplary" summative designation, the highest attainable ISBE rating. Our score of 95.1, well above the Exemplary cutoff of 91.24, places LFHS within the upper tier of the top 10% of all Illinois high schools. This achievement is a testament to the hard work of our students, teachers, and staff.
Illinois Proficiency
As defined by ISBE, proficiency rates indicate the percentage of students meeting state targets. The Illinois 2023 Report Card shares the prior year’s eleventh grade proficiency levels in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math as scored on their spring 2023 SAT, as well as the results from an additional Science exam. It also measures Algebra I competencies as an indicator of ninth graders on track to graduate, participation in the school climate survey, and absenteeism rates.
According to the 2023 Illinois Report Card, 64.2% of LFHS juniors in 2023 scored at or above 540 on the ELA portion of the SAT, and 61.9% scored at or above 540 on the Math portion of the SAT. ISBE's statewide target is for 37% of Illinois students to reach 540 on ELA, and 33% of Illinois students to reach 540 on Math.
This places District 115 within the top 1.5% of all school districts, or 5th out of 475 districts in the state of Illinois for average SAT scores.
Benchmark districts predetermined by 2021-2022 District 115 Board of Education
Benchmark districts predetermined by 2021-2022 District 115 Board of Education
What’s Next?
Our work is never finished. With our newly approved strategic plan metric (Goal 1A) targeting further improvement and innovation of student academics and college and career readiness, LFHS will continue to examine our curriculum, instruction, and the systems of support we use to implement and inspire our students.
LFHS faculty and staff have been focusing on intentionally integrating specific college-readiness skills that are measured by the SAT into our core instruction. LFHS has also ramped up SAT training and tutoring offerings. Other resources in place include Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS), English Learner support, and the expansion of our Career Pathway Endorsement program.
Continuing to Grow our Illinois Report Card Scores
In addition to our academic efforts, there are there are other important indicators that influence our Report Card results:
Taking the SAT Exam: The Illinois Report Card measures academic readiness based upon SAT data so we encourage all students to take and understand the importance of the SAT. We also acknowledge that many students have the option to take other college entrance exams such as the ACT, or opt for test-optional college admissions.This is certainly their prerogative, but does not contribute positively to our Report Card results.
Student Attendance: Chronic absenteeism accounts for 10% of our Report Card results. At LFHS, chronic absenteeism is currently 10.7%, an increase from 8.9% on last year's Report Card. It is important to remember that chronic absenteeism includes both excused and unexcused absences from school because it is difficult to develop learners who do not regularly attend school. Students should be on time and at school every day. To reinforce this, the Distinguished Scholar award will now only be available to students who miss fewer than nine days of school per year.
Participation in our Culture and Climate Survey: The annual Comprehensive School Climate Inventory (CSCI) survey accounts for nearly 7% of our Report Card results. Higher student participation in the survey will help our overall ISBE score in the future.
Leading the Way
I am incredibly proud of our LFHS faculty, staff, students, and families as our Scouts again lead the way as a. top Illinois school. The 2023 Report Card shows us that our students have grown again this year, and continue to excel in academics, athletics, and the arts. Yes, we still have work to do. With our Portrait of a Learner, five-year strategic plan, and metrics in place to measure our progress, I am confident we have the roadmap we need to meet our goals and continue our tradition of academic excellence.
If you have questions about this year’s data, please reach out directly to Dr. Erin Lenart or Dr. Patrick Sassen.
Sincerely,
Matthew L. Montgomery, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Lake Forest Community High School District 115
Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115
300 S.Waukegan Rd.
Lake Forest, IL 60045
O: 847-604-7420