STRONG AND GROWING

By Collin Hitt

A Performance Report of Downstate and Suburban

Charter Schools for the 2008-09 School Year.
 Table of Contents

Report: Strong and Growing........................................................1

Cambridge Lakes Charter School...............................................6

Fort Bowman Academy Charter School...................................8

Prairie Crossing Charter School..............................................10

Robertson Charter School........................................................12

Southern Illinois University

East St. Louis Charter School....................................................14

Springfield Ball Charter School.................................................16

Pictured in the cover image are two students from Springfield Ball Charter School,
reprinted from the school’s website www.springfieldballcharter.org.
 Strong and Growing
Downstate and suburban
charter schools thrive in
Illinois
May 20, 2010
Introduction
A New Kind of Public School
Throughout Illinois, a unique kind of public
school is emerging: charter schools. Begun
by non-profit groups, teams of teachers, or
even universities, these new schools are trying
innovative approaches to public education.
Education Brief
Most importantly, they are creating additional
choices for families, often in communities
where public education has failed to meet the
needs of parents and children.
The “charter school movement,” as it has been
called, has been a success in Illinois, but to date
it has primarily been concentrated in Chicago.
That is slowly beginning to change.
During the 2008-09 school year, there were 9
charter schools open in downstate Illinois and
the suburbs of Chicago, one of which is now
closed. Two new charter schools opened in
Rockford during the current 2009-10 school
year, with another to follow next year. Peoria
has approved a math and science charter high
school to open in the fall of 2010 as well,
bringing the expected number of downstate
and suburban charter schools to 12.
Other Illinois communities are also showing
interest, including Kankakee, Waukegan and
Matteson. However, the prospect of opening
charter schools in those communities appears
less likely, due to the fact that state law gives
Collin Hitt is Director of Education Policy at the Illinois Policy Institute. He can be reached at
217.494.6268 and at collin@illinoispolicy.org.
local school district officials almost complete
control over the decision to issue a charter
to open a new school—a school that would
essentially compete with their own. A state
task force recently recommended changes to
state law that would increase the likelihood that
high-quality charter schools would be opened
in downstate and suburban communities, but
the state legislature has not yet turned those
recommendations into law.
The growing interest in charter schools
throughout Illinois is largely attributable to
the success of charter schools within Chicago.
Studies have consistently shown that charter
schools typically perform above the norm at
comparable district schools in Chicago.
This publication offers a thorough performance
evaluation of existing downstate and suburban
charter schools, using comparable performance
measures to those laid out by the Illinois
State Board of Education and the federal
Department of Education. In doing so, this
evaluation sheds light on the progress being
made by charter schools to provide parents
throughout all of Illinois with a richer array of
school choices.
What are Charter Schools?
Charter schools are open-enrollment public
schools run by independent non-profit and
community organizations. They’re given
the flexibility to innovate but are held more
accountable for their results, both by parents
and by local officials. Charter schools create
new choices for parents within the public
school system; indeed, they are attended only
by students whose parents have signed them up.
At their best, charter schools are partnerships
between educational entrepreneurs and parents
 Page 2 of 17
seeking a better choice of schools. They open
with the specific needs of a community in
mind, and flourish only if parents choose to
enroll their children there. If a charter school
is unpopular or fails to meet high performance
standards, state and local officials can take
actions to quickly close the school by revoking
its charter agreement, giving charters a very
high level of accountability.
Performance Records of Downstate
Charter Schools
This report focuses on the six downstate
Downstate and suburban charter schools that enrolled
and suburban K-12 students during the 2008-09 school
year. Charter schools that focus exclusively
charter on reenrolling high school dropouts are
excluded from the analysis. Also not included
schools in the analysis are two new charter schools
outperformed that opened in Rockford in the fall of 2009:
Galapagos Rockford Charter School and
the district Legacy Academy of Excellence Charter School.
averages in Of the charter schools that enroll elementary,
69.2 percent middle and high school students, the results are
promising. Downstate and suburban charter
of schoolwide schools outperformed the district averages
in 69.2 percent of schoolwide performance
performance measures.
measures. • In every instance, charter schools posted
higher attendance rates than district
schools.
• In 5 of 6 comparisons, charter schools
had lower rates of chronic truancy.
• In 4 of 6 comparisons, charter schools
had a higher percentage of all students
meeting/exceeding state standards on
state tests (in one instance, the overall
performance of district schools and a
charter school was identical).
A closer grade-by-grade and subject-by-subject
analysis of performance showed charter
schools were making strong headway. Overall,
the grade-level test results at charter schools
exceeded the district grade-level average 70.5
percent of the time.
• In each subject area, charter schools
outperformed the average at district
schools in a wide majority of direct
comparisons:
o Reading test results at charter
schools exceeded district averages
in 79.3 percent, or 23 of 29, direct
comparisons.
o Math test results at charter schools
exceeded district averages in
79.3 percent, or 23 of 29, direct
comparisons.
o Science test results at charter schools
exceeded district averages in 63.6
percent, or 7 of 11, direct comparisons.
o Writing test results at charter schools
exceeded district averages in 47.3
percent, or 9 of 19, direct comparisons.
In the two schools where the grade-level
performance of economically disadvantaged
students could be compared directly to district
averages, charter students outperformed the
district averages in 69.4 percent, or 25 of 36,
direct comparisons:
• At Decatur Robertson Charter School,
low-income students outperformed their
peers district-wide in 50 percent, or 9 of
18, comparisons.
• At Springfield Ball Charter School, low-
income students outperformed their peers
district-wide in 88.9 percent, or 16 of 18,
comparisons.
These results are consistent with those from
previous years. The Illinois Policy Institute’s
2007-08 charter school performance report
found that the grade-level test results at
downstate and suburban charter schools
exceeded the district averages 72.0 percent of
the time.
Charter schools provide parents with new
choices of where their children can attend
school, which is something that Illinois families
strongly desire. In a December 2007 poll, more
than 80 percent of people surveyed in Illinois
said that they would most prefer to enroll their
children in a school other than a regular district
public school. More people named charter
 Page 3 of 17
schools as their top choice than they did regular
public schools, 23 to 19 percent.
Throughout the state, many parents are
looking for smaller classes or safer schools.
Others are looking for a unique curriculum; for
example, one suburban charter school focuses
on ecological issues. Success at meeting these
unique demands is difficult to measure and
does not always show up on data-driven reports
such as this, which focuses exclusively on
standardized measures of student performance.
That said, the data are clear. More often than
not, charter schools in downstate and suburban
Illinois are outperforming the average at district
schools. This is the case with low income
students in particular. Parents who are seeking
schools with stronger academic records are
likely to be happy with their choice of charter
schools.
As more charter schools open throughout
downstate Illinois and the suburbs of Chicago,
one hopes they will match the success of
existing charter schools. After all, every
community could use better schools, and as
charter schools continue to flourish, perhaps
they can spur all public schools to challenge the
norm and improve how all of Illinois’s children
are educated.
Methods and Definitions
This report reviews several measures of school
performance. These measures include results
on standardized tests during the 2008-09 school
year, gains on standardized tests from the
previous year, measures of student attendance,
truancy, and graduation rates, as well as the
performance of economically disadvantaged
students. All data were gathered from the
Illinois Interactive Report Card, which is
published by Northern Illinois University using
data provided by the Illinois State Board of
Education.
Attendance Rate
Regular attendance is a prerequisite for other
academic achievements in the classroom. As
a general rule, students who frequently miss
school will learn less as a result. A school’s
attendance rate is calculated according to the
following guidelines published by the Illinois
State Board of Education (ISBE): “Student
attendance rate is the aggregate days of student
attendance, divided by the sum of the aggregate Parents who
days of student attendance and aggregate days
of student absence, multiplied by 100.” are seeking
Truancy Rate schools with
Truancy has substantial adverse impacts on
stronger
student learning. As stated above, students academic
who attend school less will learn less. In the
case of truancy, that point can be stated even records are
more emphatically: students who miss school
on a regular basis will fail in school on a regular likely to be
basis. ISBE provides the following guideline
for calculating truancy rates: “Chronic truancy happy with
rate is the number of chronic truants, divided
by the average daily enrollment, multiplied by
their choice
100. Chronic truants include students subject to of charter
compulsory attendance who have been absent
without valid cause from such attendance for schools.
10 percent or more of the previous 180 regular
attendance days.”
Graduation Rate
A high school diploma is a prerequisite to
success as an adult. Students, simply put, must
graduate from high school in order to succeed
in college or the workforce. Students who
fail to graduate from high school will live a
substantial portion of their lives—if not their
entire lives—at or below the poverty level. The
Illinois State Board of Education requires every
school to report graduation rates according to
the following formula: “graduates / original
freshmen + transfer in - transfer out or died.”
ISAT Composite
Students in grades 3 through 8 take a series of
tests called the Illinois Standards Achievement
Test (ISAT). As part of the federal No Child
Left Behind Act (NCLB), state lawmakers
have set performance benchmarks at each
subject and grade level. These benchmarks,
from lowest to highest, are Academic Warning,
Below Standards, Meets Standards, and Exceeds
Standards. This report compares percentages
of students at charter and district schools who
meet/exceed standards on all subjects on the
ISAT.
 Page 4 of 17

One-Year ISAT Change Comparing the grade-level results at charter

schools and district schools gives parents,
Good schools get better over time. The one- policymakers and taxpayers a clearer idea of
year change in the percentage of students where and how charter schools are making
meeting or exceeding state standards provides progress.
a glimpse into the progress being made by
schools and entire districts in their various Low-Income Student Comparisons
attempts to improve student learning. This
report compares the one-year change in the Grade-level results are often available for
percentage of students meeting standards on student “subgroups” as well. Examining
ISAT composite. the results of students in the “low-income”
subgroup is especially important to examining
PSAE Composite the impact of charter schools. The percentage
of charter school students who come from
Examining Students in grade 11 are required to take poor households often varies from the district
the results a battery of tests called the Prairie State
Assessment Exam (PSAE). The PSAE
average: sometimes the number at charter
schools is higher, sometimes it’s lower. If at
of students component tests are: the English, reading, least ten students in a given grade are classified
writing, mathematics and science components as low-income, then the grade-level test results
in the “low- of the ACT; the ACT WorkKeys assessments for that subgroup are published. When that
income” for “Reading for Information” and “Applied data was available, direct comparisons were
Mathematics”; as well as a science assessment made with the performance of low-income
subgroup developed by the Illinois State Board of students at district schools on a grade-by-grade
Education. As with the ISAT, lawmakers basis.
is especially have created performance benchmarks, called
important to standards, for each test. This report compares
the percentage of students who meet/exceed
examining those standards at charter and district schools.
the impact One-Year PSAE Change
of charter As with ISAT scores, the one-year change in
schools. PSAE scores provides a glimpse into how
schools are improving over time, if they are
improving at all. This report compares the
one-year change in the percentage of students
meeting/exceeding standards on PSAE
composite.

Grade-by-Grade, Subject-by-Subject Comparisons

Grade-level results on standardized tests are

published for every school and district by the
Illinois Interactive Report Card. In grades 3
through 8, almost all students take the ISAT
battery of tests. Similarly, in grade 11, most
students take the PSAE. In each instance,
students take Reading and Math tests. Science
is tested during grades 4, 7 and 11. Writing is
tested in grades 5, 6, 8 and 11. By publishing
the results of each test, the state makes it
possible to compare student performance at
different ages and in several content areas.
 Charter Schools Evaluated in this Report

CAMBRIDGE LAKES
CHARTER SCHOOL

PRAIRIE CROSSING
CHARTER SCHOOL

ROBERTSON
CHARTER SCHOOL
SPRINGFIELD BALL
CHARTER SCHOOL

FORT BOWMAN
ACADEMY
CHARTER SCHOOL
SIUE CHARTER
SCHOOL OF EAST
ST. LOUIS
 Page 6 of 17

CAMBRIDGE LAKES CHARTER

900 Wester Blvd. Opened: 2007
SCHOOL Pingree Grove, IL 60140 Grades Served: K-8
(847) 464-4300
Opened in 2007, Cambridge Lakes Charter School is
part of a larger network of educational institutions being
developed near the new Cambridge Lakes community,
within the 19,000-student Community Unit School DEMOGRAPHICS
District 300. Located on a 15-acre campus, the charter
school is hosted in one of seven planned, brand new Cambridge CUSD 300
educational facilities, according to the school’s website: Lakes
“Three have been built and next buildings will be added Enrollment 411 19,329
to meet enrollment needs. Campus activities include White % 53.8 59.7
the charter school, Cambridge Lakes Preschool, the Black % 3.2 4.9
Cambridge Adult Learning Center, and School’s Out®.
Hispanic % 22.9 26.9
In planning [are the] Cambridge Academy for accelerated
learning and Cambridge Academy On-line.” Like new Asian % 11.4 5.5
teachers, new schools typically need a full year (or Other % 8.7 3.1
two) to adjust to unique student needs and unforeseen LEP % 1.5 11.8
challenges. For the time being, this pattern appears to
Low Income % 16.1 32.2
hold true at Cambridge Lakes Charter School, with the
school improving its overall ISAT scores in a year when
surrounding district schools saw slight drop off.

CHARTER RATING KEY

Above district performance
Equal to district performance
Below district performance

SCHOOL-WIDE PERFORMANCE
Cambridge Lakes CUSD 300
Attendance % 94.7 94.6
Truant % 0.0 .9
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 84 81
% Meet or Exceed State Standard
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 3.0 -1.0
Change from previous year

Cambridge Lakes Charter School performed above the district average on 4 of 4 school-wide performance
measures
 Page 7 of 17

GRADE-BY-GRADE PERFORMANCE
Cambridge CUSD 300
Lakes
Grade 3 Reading 71 70
Grade 3 Math 86 85
Grade 3 Writing 81 72
Grade 4 Reading 78 76
Grade 4 Math 93 88
Grade 4 Science 80 80
Grade 5 Reading 64 76
Grade 5 Math 91 86
Grade 5 Writing 57 59
Grade 6 Reading 90 83
Grade 6 Math 100 84
Grade 6 Writing 88 78
Grade 7 Reading 77 78
Grade 7 Math 91 86
Grade 7 Science 83 79
Grade 8 Reading 96 84
Grade 8 Math 92 84
Grade 8 Writing 71 71
Cambridge Lakes Charter School performed above the
district average on 13 of 18 grade-by-grade perfor-
mance measures
 Page 8 of 17

FORT BOWMAN ACADEMY

2734 Calvin Blvd Opened: 1999
CHARTER SCHOOL Cahokia, IL 62206 Grades Served: K-12
(618) 332-7404
Fort Bowman Charter School closed its doors after the
2008-09 school year. Opened in 1999, the Fort Bowman
Academy Charter School became the first charter school
to open in the Metro East area. With a reported focus on DEMOGRAPHICS
smaller class sizes, the school has in recent years spurred
its host district to create a competing “Cahokia School of Fort Cahokia
Choice.” Spreading innovation through competition is a Bowman CUSD 187
key aim of the charter school movement. Academy
Enrollment 189 4,233
In the spring of 2009, local school district officials
White % 52.4 11.8
declined to recertify the charter of Fort Bowman
Academy for a third five-year term, a decision which Black % 46.0 86.8
was upheld by the Illinois State Board of Education. Hispanic % 0.5 0.9
The district’s decision to close the school was widely Asian % 0.5 0.1
anticipated in the community, likely contributing to
Other % 0.5 0.3
the school’s performance decline in its final year of
operations. LEP % 0.0 0.0
Low Income % 10.6 82.7

CHARTER RATING KEY

Above district performance
Equal to district performance
Below district performance

SCHOOL-WIDE PERFORMANCE
Fort Bowman Academy Cahokia CUSD 187
Attendance % 91.0 90.2
Truant % 2.1 11.0
HS Graduation 90.0 76.0
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 68 68
% Meet or Exceed State Standard
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 10 2
Change from previous year

Fort Bowman Academy Charter School performed above the district average on 4 of 5 school-wide
performance measures
 Page 9 of 17

GRADE-BY-GRADE PERFORMANCE
Fort Cahokia
Bowman CUSD 187
Academy
Grade 3 Reading n/a 68
Grade 3 Math n/a 87
Grade 3 Writing n/a 52
Grade 4 Reading 50 64
Grade 4 Math 71 82
Grade 4 Science 57 62
Grade 5 Reading n/a 63
Grade 5 Math n/a 80
Grade 5 Writing n/a 40
Grade 6 Reading 79 65
Grade 6 Math 71 77
Grade 6 Writing 57 35
Grade 7 Reading 83 61
Grade 7 Math 78 70
Grade 7 Science 94 61
Grade 8 Reading 69 60
Grade 8 Math 53 57
Grade 8 Writing 53 34
Fort Bowman Academy Charter School performed
above the district average on 7 of 12 grade-by-grade
performance measures
 Page 10 of 17

PRAIRIE CROSSING CHARTER

1531 Jones Point Rd, Opened: 2000
SCHOOL Grayslake, IL 60030 Grades Served: K-8
(847) 543-9722 Waiting list: 140
Located in suburban Grayslake, Prairie Crossing Charter
School was named one the nation’s best charter schools
by the Center for Education Reform in 2007. The D.C.-
based organization lauded Prairie Crossing’s academic DEMOGRAPHICS
achievements and was especially impressed with the charter
school’s “innovative curriculum that uses an ecological, Prairie Fremont Wood-
integrated, experimental approach to learning [in order] Crossing 79 land 50
to develop students who demonstrate environmental Enrollment 361 2153 6,977
stewardship and global citizenship.” White % 79.2 73.5 57.6
Prairie Crossing Charter School is the only charter school in Black % 1.1 2.6 7.4
Illinois to enroll students from multiple districts. Students Hispanic % 4.4 8.7 19.2
from Fremont 79 and Woodland 50 are eligible to attend Asian % 10.5 10.5 12.4
the charter school. Prairie Crossing is also unique in that it
Other % 4.7 4.6 3.4
is the only charter school in Illinois to answer solely to the
Illinois State Board of Education, since the charter school LEP % 0.0 7.8 8.7
was approved by ISBE on appeal after initially being denied Low Income % 1.4 6.6 18.5
by the school boards of Fremont 79 and Woodland 50.

CHARTER RATING KEY

Above district performance
Equal to district performance
Below district performance

SCHOOL-WIDE PERFORMANCE
Prairie Crossing Fremont 79 Woodland 50 Weighted
Average*
Attendance % 96.5 95.2 95.6 95.5
Truant % 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.2
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 96 92 87 88
% Meet or Exceed State Standard
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 0 0 1 1
Change from previous year
Prairie Crossing Charter School performed above the districts’ weighted average on 3 of 4 school-wide
performance measures
 Page 11 of 17

GRADE-BY-GRADE PERFORMANCE
Prairie Fremont 79 Woodland Weighted
Crossing 50 Average*
Grade 3 Reading 81 82 82 82
Grade 3 Math 95 95 92 93
Grade 3 Writing 69 68 71 70
Grade 4 Reading 100 90 81 83
Grade 4 Math 100 96 92 93
Grade 4 Science 100 92 85 86
Grade 5 Reading 95 89 82 83
Grade 5 Math 98 92 87 88
Grade 5 Writing 93 52 63 61
Grade 6 Reading 95 91 86 87
Grade 6 Math 95 94 92 92
Grade 6 Writing 81 87 76 78
Grade 7 Reading 97 88 82 83
Grade 7 Math 97 92 90 90
Grade 7 Science 97 93 87 88
Grade 8 Reading 100 95 87 88
Grade 8 Math 97 94 90 91
Grade 8 Writing 61 74 63 65

Prairie Crossing Charter School performed above the districts’ weighted

average on 15 of 18 grade-by-grade performance measures

*Prairie Crossing Charter School staff reported that students from Fremont 79 constitute approximately 17.5
percent of total enrollment, and students from Woodland 50 constitute approximately 82.5 percent of total
enrollment. Prairie Crossing school performance was compared to an average weighted performance of Fremont
79 and Woodland 50, calculated using these estimates.
 Page 12 of 17

ROBERTSON CHARTER SCHOOL

Located in Decatur, “Robertson Charter School began 2240 E. Geddes Ave Opened: 2001
as a dream,” according to the school’s website. “The idea Decatur, IL 62522 Grades Served: K-8
was to provide an alternative educational opportunity for (217) 428-7072 Waiting list: 408
students and their families living in Decatur, Illinois. After
nearly eighteen months of preparation, the school was
opened in July 2001 with 67 students.” The initial site of
the school was a converted office space. DEMOGRAPHICS
Robertson Decatur 61
Today, the school enrolls 228 students, and is located in a
school building that it has purchased. Prior to the 2008- Enrollment 222 8,558
09 school year, 460 families signed up for 52 available White % 4.1 44.9
seats at Robertson Charter School, which is undoubtedly Black % 89.6 44.6
one of the best and most popular schools in Decatur.
Hispanic % 0.0 1.7
Robertson’s 2008-09 test results earned high praise from
the Illinois State Board of Education, which conferred Asian % 0.0 0.9
its “Spotlight School” and “Academic Improvement” Other % 6.3 7.7
awards upon the school. In the fall of 2009, the school LEP % 0.0 0.8
broke ground on new classrooms and a gym that will
Low Income % 88.3 65.7
allow Robertson to increase the number of middle school
students and, finally, host home basketball games (the
school’s eighth grade boys basketball team made the state
tournament, despite playing every game on their middle CHARTER RATING KEY
school careers on the road). Above district performance
Robertson Charter School is a school that might be called Equal to district performance
a “no excuses” school. Its students wear uniforms, have Below district performance
a longer school day and follow a strict discipline policy.
Another unique trait: Robertson students convene in the
cafeteria every morning to say the school pledge.

SCHOOL-WIDE PERFORMANCE
Robertson Decatur 61
Attendance % 94.9 90.9
Truant % 0.0 5.1
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 69 69
% Meet or Exceed State Standard
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 0 0
Change from previous year
Robertson Charter School performed above the district average on 2 of 4 school-wide performance measures.
 Page 13 of 17

GRADE-BY-GRADE PERFORMANCE LOW-INCOME PERFORMANCE

Robertson Decatur 61 Robertson Decatur 61
Grade 3 Reading 72 67 Grade 3 Reading 70 62
Grade 3 Math 84 79 Grade 3 Math 83 75
Grade 3 Writing 17 46 Grade 3 Writing 18 43
Grade 4 Reading 76 65 Grade 4 Reading 74 60
Grade 4 Math 76 79 Grade 4 Math 74 76
Grade 4 Science 38 65 Grade 4 Science 42 59
Grade 5 Reading 77 64 Grade 5 Reading 79 58
Grade 5 Math 82 73 Grade 5 Math 90 69
Grade 5 Writing 32 37 Grade 5 Writing 26 34
Grade 6 Reading 45 74 Grade 6 Reading 45 70
Grade 6 Math 55 76 Grade 6 Math 56 72
Grade 6 Writing 25 50 Grade 6 Writing 17 45
Grade 7 Reading 67 59 Grade 7 Reading 68 51
Grade 7 Math 74 62 Grade 7 Math 77 54
Grade 7 Science 67 66 Grade 7 Science 59 58
Grade 8 Reading 66 71 Grade 8 Reading 62 67
Grade 8 Math 76 68 Grade 8 Math 73 63
Grade 8 Writing 10 35 Grade 8 Writing 12 30

Robertson Charter School performed above Robertson Charter School performed above the
the district average on 9 of 18 grade-by-grade district average on 9 of 18 low-income student
performance measures performance measures
 Page 14 of 17

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY EAST ST. LOUIS
CHARTER SCHOOL 601 James R Thompson Grades Served: 9-12
East Saint Louis, IL 62201 Opened: 2000
Opened in the fall of 2000, the SIU East St. Louis Charter (618) 482-8370 Waiting list: 16
School enrolls students from one of the state’s most
beleaguered communities. Moreover, the school itself
focuses on enrolling many of that community’s most
challenging students. DEMOGRAPHICS
Initially begun as a school for high school dropouts, the SIU East SL 189
small charter high school has evolved into an attractive Enrollment 100 7,520
alternative to East St. Louis’s large, lone district-run high White % 0.0 0.1
school. Particularly attractive to students, according to
school staff, is the fine arts curriculum and after-school Black % 100.0 97.8
activities offered by the charter school. Also attractive is the Hispanic % 0.0 1.8
fact that the charter school is located on a campus that’s also Asian % 0.0 0.0
home to the East St. Louis Community College Center, and Other % 0.0 0.0
a sizeable Head Start preschool program run by Southern
Illinois University. LEP % 0.0 0.8
Low Income % N/A 66.2
While often comparable to the district’s test scores, the
charter school’s results on the PSAE test are amongst the
lowest in the state. This is due in part to the fact that many
of its students are referred to the charter school by the
district after they have dropped out of high school. Another
contributing factor is that entering students, even the first- CHARTER RATING KEY
time freshmen, are often far behind their peers statewide. Above district performance
In anticipation of this challenge SIU has repeatedly, Equal to district performance
beginning with its first charter proposal, sought to open
an elementary and middle school element of their charter Below district performance
school, an idea rejected by the district.

SCHOOL-WIDE PERFORMANCE
SIU East SL 189
Attendance % 91.6 90.5
Truant % 33.5 17.7
HS Graduation 58.6 62.7
PSAE 2009 Composite Score 10 9
% Meet or Exceed State Standard
PSAE 2009 Composite Score -7 -2
Change from previous year

Southern Illinois University East St. Louis Charter School performed above the district average on 2 of 5 school-
wide performance measures
 Page 15 of 17

GRADE-BY-GRADE PERFORMANCE
SIU East SL 189
Grade 11 Reading 19 13
Grade 11 Math 8 8
Grade 11 Science 3 5
Grade 11 Writing 19 18

Southern Illinois University East St. Louis Charter

School performed above the district average on 2 of 4
grade-by-grade performance measures
 Page 16 of 17
SPRINGFIELD BALL
CHARTER SCHOOL
Located on the east side of Springfield, Ball Charter School 2530 E Ash St. Opened: 1998
is the only charter school in the state’s capitol city. The Springfield, IL 62703 Grades Served: K-8
school has a number of unique features. Among them, (217) 525-3275 Waiting list: 317
grades are not issued to students in early grades. According
to the school’s website, “When children enter Ball Charter,
they receive a learning continuum. This continuum becomes
part of their school record. The continuum follows the child DEMOGRAPHICS
throughout their career at Ball Charter. Skills and standards
that the students have mastered are highlighted twice a Ball Springfield
year. Conferencing with parents and students takes place to 186
discuss growth. The continuum lists skills in Reading, Writing Enrollment 417 14,120
and Math (only to grade 6).”
White % 47.2 52.4
Until grade 7, parents have primary input over their child’s Black % 38.4 36.5
“learning continuum.” After that point, teachers play a Hispanic % 1.9 1.7
more assertive role in structuring the curriculum in order to
Asian % 3.4 1.8
prepare students for a successful transition to high school.
Other % 9.1 7.5
The teaching staff at Ball Charter School elected to unionize LEP % 0.5 0.3
a few years back. Whereas collective bargaining is not suitable Low Income % 40.3 62.9
for many charter school models, it seems to be working
well at Ball. Teachers, the same as school administrators, do
not enjoy tenure rights. But they enjoy a strong culture of
professional development, with teachers regularly meeting CHARTER RATING KEY
and working as teams. Moreover, the school’s most recent Above district performance
collective bargaining agreement with its teachers has created Equal to district performance
a unique “portfolio assessment” program, where teachers will
receive performance-based bonuses based upon benchmarks Below district performance
set forth in their own individual plans.

Ball Charter School has proven extremely popular with

parents in Springfield. During the 2008-09 school year, 394
applications were submitted for 77 available seats, making the
waiting list to get into Ball Charter the longest of any charter
school outside of Chicago.

SCHOOL-WIDE PERFORMANCE
Ball Springfield 186
Attendance % 94.7 92.0
Truant % 0.0 4.5
ISAT 2009 Composite Score 81 69
% Meet or Exceed State Standard
ISAT 2009 Composite Score -1 1
Change from previous year
Springfield Ball Charter School performed above the district average on 3 of 4 school-wide performance
measures
 Page 17 of 17

GRADE-BY-GRADE PERFORMANCE LOW-INCOME PERFORMANCE

Ball Springfield Ball Springfield
186 186
Grade 3 Reading 77 62 Grade 3 Reading 60 53
Grade 3 Math 86 76 Grade 3 Math 80 70
Grade 3 Writing 35 48 Grade 3 Writing 7 40
Grade 4 Reading 68 62 Grade 4 Reading 56 53
Grade 4 Math 86 75 Grade 4 Math 89 68
Grade 4 Science 74 65 Grade 4 Science 72 56
Grade 5 Reading 73 64 Grade 5 Reading 56 54
Grade 5 Math 80 71 Grade 5 Math 56 63
Grade 5 Writing 52 43 Grade 5 Writing 38 36
Grade 6 Reading 83 70 Grade 6 Reading 75 59
Grade 6 Math 81 73 Grade 6 Math 75 64
Grade 6 Writing 61 61 Grade 6 Writing 63 52
Grade 7 Reading 81 66 Grade 7 Reading 75 57
Grade 7 Math 88 74 Grade 7 Math 81 67
Grade 7 Science 81 74 Grade 7 Science 69 65
Grade 8 Reading 77 68 Grade 8 Reading 63 57
Grade 8 Math 94 70 Grade 8 Math 88 59
Grade 8 Writing 60 53 Grade 8 Writing 50 44
Springfield Ball Charter School performed above Springfield Ball Charter School performed above
the district average on 16 of 18 grade-by-grade the district average on 16 of 18 low-income student
performance measures performance measures
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