Learning Renewal

In Partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

Project Overview

These reports explore Learning Renewal in Illinois after the COVID-19 pandemic disruption to schooling. We study how important student outcomes, including test scores, attendance and enrollment, have shifted since the pandemic and what districts have done to address these shifts. We also study how emergency federal spending (“ESSER spending”) was used in Illinois and how districts prioritized spending across all waves. Finally, we explore the relation between ESSER spending and student learning outcomes, and we identify and highlight the strategies of districts with higher bounce-back learning rates.

• Report 1: Descriptive Trends in Student Renewal Outcomes in Illinois: Test Scores, Enrollment and Attendance »

• Report 2: Describing ESSER Spending for Recovery in Illinois »

• Report 3: Exploring Practices for Learning Renewal in Illinois After the COVID-19 Pandemic »

• Report 4: Exploring the Relationship Between Illinois Districts’ ESSER Spending and Student Achievement: 

• Report 4: Exploring the Relationship Between Illinois Districts’ ESSER Spending and Student Achievement: Full Report »

  • Quick Guide to Report 4 »

• Report 5: The relation between absenteeism and student learning in a post-pandemic context. »

• Brief: Highlighting Districts with Strong Learning Renewal in Illinois »