The Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has released a report with findings from an evaluation of the newly designed Illinois High School to College Success Report (HS2CSR).
The new HS2CSR is one of the first collaborative endeavors among the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to combine their fairly disparate data systems. The first HS2CSR report was released in June 2011 followed by the second report during February 2013.
“As Illinois develops its longitudinal data system, it is critical to evaluate the dissemination and usefulness of the HS2CSR,” said Brenda Klostermann, associate director for administration for the IERC and an assistant research professor at SIUE. “There also is a need for suggestions for improvement, in order to guide development of future reports,”
The evaluation study examined the dissemination, usefulness, and impact on collaborative efforts. IERC also solicited stakeholders’ suggestions for improving the report.
Based on responses from an online survey, focus groups, and feedback from postsecondary administrators and faculty, the report’s findings include:
- Widespread dissemination of the HS2CSR was limited. Based on survey responses, 33 percent received both reports. However, 43 percent of respondents reported not receiving either report.
- Of those who received the HS2CSR, many have found it useful, primarily to monitor student success and to collaborate within institutions. A focus group participant commented, “The one piece that was very helpful was where it identified the actual courses, especially for math, when we were trying to speak to students and parents about college readiness.”
- More collaborative activity utilizing the report occurred within the K-12 sector and occurred within institutions, rather than cross-institutions.
- Concerns were expressed about reliance on self-report data and comprehensiveness of the data. For example, the report only contains information on students attending Illinois public institutions. Inclusion of all postsecondary schools would provide a more complete picture.
- Suggestions from study participants to improve the report included increasing the report’s ease of use, increasing the data’s representativeness and providing additional data elements.
“Experiences with the first two HS2CSR releases provided opportunities to learn what went well and where improvements can be implemented,” Klostermann said. “Results from this evaluation show that the report is not as widely disseminated as hoped. However of those who did receive it, many are finding it helpful in their collaborations within their institution. Some are utilizing it across institutions.”
Klostermann pointed out that increasing the representativeness of the data and ease of use, along with improving dissemination and providing training to more fully utilize the report would likely result in expanded use. These steps would foster communication and collaboration among secondary and postsecondary educators to improve student achievement.
For more information, contact Klostermann, the author of the report, (618) 650-2840 or (866) 799-4372. The Research Brief and the Technical Report, with a detailed description of the study and findings, are available at siue.edu/ierc.