All three Lincoln-Way schools have received a summative designation of Exemplary from the Illinois State Board of Education 2026 School Report Card, which is the highest designation available. Other highlights from this year's report card include:
97.4% graduation rate (up from 97%)
96.1% teacher retention rate (up from 93.5%)
98% 9th grade on track (up from 97%)
The 2026 Illinois State Report Card uses performance indicators to determine a school’s designation, including proficiency, growth, graduation rate, attendance, school climate survey participation, and English learner progress. Each indicator contributes to a school’s designation level, and the overall summative designation is calculated based on the average of these indicators. All three Lincoln-Way schools rank within the top three categories for every performance indicator.
Dr. Renae Goldie, Assistant Superintendent for Academics, said, "We are proud of our students and staff for their hard work and dedication to maintaining the standard of excellence we have for schools. We will continue to work with our faculty to ensure each student has the opportunity to grow to their fullest potential while at Lincoln-Way."
This year's report card includes several significant changes to how school districts are evaluated compared to previous years. Most notably, the summative designation system now uses fixed score thresholds rather than awarding the highest designation, Exemplary, only to the top 10% of districts. This creates a clearer and more consistent path to achieving the highest designation. The report card also replaces the chronic absenteeism metric with a consistent attendance, allowing strong attendance to positively impact a district's score without penalizing schools for lower attendance rates. In addition, this year's report card changes the impact that student subgroup performance can have on summative designations. Performance among groups such as racial and ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, English learners, and low-income students can now boost a district's score but is less likely to lower its overall rating.
To view the 2026 report card, visit https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?DistrictID=56099210016