On Wednesday, December 17, Fund Director of Policy & Public Affairs Barry Tyler Jr. testified before the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) about how transparent, actionable data and thoughtful accountability systems are essential for school leaders to implement sustainable school improvement.
Edited audio of Barry’s testimony is below, followed by an edited transcript.
Testimony to the Illinois State Board of Education on December 17, 2025
Good morning State Superintendent Sanders and ISBE members. My name is Barry Tyler, and I am from The Chicago Public Education Fund, where we transform public education in Chicago by investing in the talented leaders of our schools. At our core, we exist to ensure every student in Chicago’s public schools has access to an excellent education. As such, we strongly support the use of data as a key to long-term, sustainable school improvement and support thoughtful accountability systems at the state and local level.
Illinois has long been a national leader in data availability and access. A well-designed accountability system, driven by school and student data, can be a powerful tool — one that promotes transparency, advances equity, and helps schools continuously improve.
We appreciate several aspects of the proposed redesign, including the move to criterion-referenced scoring, more nuanced performance categories, and the intentional inclusion of student subgroups in accountability determinations.
We are encouraged that the proposed system retains two essential indicators, the first being student participation in a school climate survey. Research indicates that these surveys provide crucial information that can guide future improvements.
The second is a unit of measurement for student proficiency. These remain an indispensable marker for tracking over time. Indeed, statewide, the average ACT scores in 2025 were lower than those in 2015, and talking about that fact and why really matters.
At the same time, we want to underscore that accountability systems are only as effective as the data they produce — and how usable that data is for the public.
Leaders do not improve schools through labels alone. They improve schools through accurate, timely, readily available data that helps them understand what is happening across their buildings, within student groups, and over time. When leaders have access to district-wide and statewide context, as well as school-level details, they are far more effective at setting strategy, allocating resources, collaborating with school communities, and implementing interventions that actually ensure more students learn.
That is why transparency matters. We urge ISBE to publish clear analyses showing how schools would be rated under the new system compared to the current one, and to ensure that this information is communicated so that all stakeholders can understand.
Without this transparency, we risk creating a system that sorts schools in a new way without equipping them to improve upon previous years’ performance.
Equally important is preserving a holistic view of school quality. The proposed structure, as written, risks isolating indicators rather than highlighting the interconnectedness of student learning.
Attendance, growth, proficiency, readiness, and graduation are not separate levers — they are deeply linked. When systems reward performance on a single strongest metric, they can unintentionally encourage narrow strategies that boost short-term results at the expense of long-term student success.
Finally, accountability must be meaningfully connected to school improvement. Data should identify need AND guide action. Leaders need clarity on how designations translate into support, what evidence-based practices the state is prioritizing, and how resources — especially in a time of declining federal funds — will be deployed to help schools build sustainable improvement cycles.
We share ISBE’s dedication to equity and continuous improvement. We believe Illinois can continue to lead the nation by establishing an accountability system that is transparent, integrated, and user-friendly — one that empowers school leaders with the data they need to make informed decisions and better serve students across our state. And we are committed to assisting you in this process.
Thank you.