ROCKFORD — Thurgood Marshall School has the highest composite score on 2017 Illinois standardized tests.

Students at Marshall, who are in the district's Gifted Academy for grades five through eight, had the highest composite score of all public schools in Illinois compared with other schools’ fifth- through eighth-graders, Rockford Public Schools announced Monday.

Results are from the composite scores on the PARCC exam. PARCC stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

Marshall students' scores rose year over year, as more students moved from the “met expectations” category to the “exceeded expectations” category, as defined by the PARCC. Six percent of the students at Marshall do not meet or exceed the state's standards as determined by PARCC scores.

The results are based on grade-level data from the Illinois Report Card.

Thurgood Marshall Elementary, which serves Gifted Academy students in first through fourth grades, is the sixth-highest-performing elementary school when comparing composite scores by grade level on the 2017 PARCC.

“We are incredibly proud of our students and staff for this monumental achievement,” Thurgood Marshall School Principal Jill Faber said in a news release. “Our students work hard every day with our dedicated teachers to continually show growth toward their academic goals. It's a great day to be a Mustang.”

“The credit here goes to the teachers and the work they do with students,” Jessica Powell, Thurgood Marshall Elementary principal, said in the release. “Teachers prioritize collaboration and goal setting with students. These practices are critical to provide students success beyond grade-level curriculum and with students’ own growth goals.”

Rockford Public Schools has 28,500 students. It is among the largest school districts in Illinois and is the second-largest employer in the Rockford region.

“Jill Faber and the staff at Marshall have worked hard to implement long-range goals for the program that include inquiry, perseverance, active learning and personalized student goals,” said Heather Psaltis, director of special programs. “The higher the starting point for students, the harder it is to demonstrate growth. The hard work shows — not only in these results, but through the daily work and progress of staff and students.”

The Gifted Academy is one of several specialized programs in RPS. The program is open to all RPS 205 students. Students test into the program.

Corina Curry: 815-987-1371; ccurry@rrstar.com; @corinacurry