NIU, in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education, recently launched an interactive Web site that compares the academic performance of students in the Illinois public school systems grades K-12.

The Interactive Illinois Report Card was released publicly in December. The Web site offers a list of schools, cities, districts and counties that compare different school standards through test scores, school size, enrollment and demographics.

“Schools are held accountable for improving students, and yet it’s difficult for parents to get access to such things as test scores and learning standards,” said Harvey Smith, director of the IIRC project and interim chair of the department of history.

The Illinois State Board of Education supplies a database of school results. NIU hosts the Web site and publicizes it.

The comparison of school performance also is a way for schools to identify weaknesses and learn from other schools’ strategies, Smith said.

Aside from test scores, the Web site offers information about the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE). It also provides Web links to view test samples.

At NIU, IIRC works with the College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Office of the University Outreach.

“The Illinois Interactive Report Card is a great tool for parents and interested parties in the community, and it’s an indication of the many ways that universities can play a role in public school issues,” said Anne Kaplan, vice president for Administration and Outreach at NIU.

For more information about IIRC or to view school assessments, visit http://iirc.niu.edu.