In spring 2025, benchmarks were updated for 5Essentials Survey scores and ratings in Illinois and CPS.
Survey benchmarks…
- Are standards for each question, measure, and Essential based on all responses from schools in Illinois in a particular year.
- Allow schools & stakeholders to see survey results over time, and in comparison to the broader population of Illinois schools.
Why were 5Essentials Survey benchmarks updated?
- Re-benchmarking is part of the life cycle for any norm-referenced tool.
- Reflect current practice: Given developments in educational practice, changes to policies and even historical and cultural shifts that occur over time, “norms” must be periodically adjusted.
- Ensure relevant comparisons: Over time, the characteristics of the norm group may change due to demographic shifts, changes in educational practices, or other factors. Updating benchmarks ensures that comparisons remain relevant.
- Make adjustments: Measurement improvements come with updated benchmarks in terms of reliability and validity.
- It’s been 11 years, including a pandemic, since the 5Essentials benchmark was last updated:
- For survey reports from SY13-24, the benchmark was created using all schools across Illinois in spring 2013.
- Starting with SY25 surveys, the benchmark is now created using all schools across Illinois in spring 2024.
- This means that spring 2025 survey report scores are comparisons to schools across Illinois in 2024—not schools in 2013.
How are schools’ reports affected by the spring 2025 re-benchmarking for Illinois and CPS?
Potential changes:
- More schools’ measure & essential scores will fall into the average, “Neutral,” category, and the overall rating category of “Moderately Organized.”
- This means some schools will change ratings categories for measures, essentials or overall.
- Especially if a school has changed score or rating categories, SY24-25 trend data is important to consider (see below).
Staying the same:
- When looking at spring 2025 reports, trends from SY24-SY25 are key data for schools.
- In spring 2025 reports, SY24 data is also shown rescored with new benchmarks to provide comparable trend data
- Later this summer, SY22 & SY23 data will also be shown in CPS school reports, rescored with new benchmarks to provide longer-term trend data
- Improvement is still improvement; drops are still drops
- Schools can focus on trends and data for inquiry & improvement, like in any year. The Dashboard Summary (see top right of school reports) is a good place to start data inquiry, using questions like:
- Which measures have improved & declined the most?
- What do student & teacher responses look like for items within measures?
- How do students’ experiences differ across different student groups, when looking at groups by gender, grade level, race/ethnicity, individualized education plan, English Learner, and free/reduced lunch data?
- How did measures change from SY24–SY25?
- How does data compare to CPS averages?
