Illinois Child and Education Expense Tax Credit Information

The state of Illinois has introduced new laws expanding tax credits for residents. Low to middle-income individuals will benefit from the new initiatives from the department of revenue known as The Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), The Illinois Child Tax Credit (CTC), and The Education Expense Credit (EEC).

The Illinois Child Tax Credit will benefit families who qualify for the EITC and have at least one child under the age of twelve years old so long as this child is a dependent. This credit accounts for 20% of the total EITC. This will be increased to 40% in the 2025 tax year.

The Education Expense Credit will allow parents or guardians of students under the age of 21 to claim education expenses between $250 - $750 on their taxes. For traditionally schooled children, these expenses include textbooks, tuition, and lab fees paid to the school. For homeschooled students, textbook and lab fees are qualifying expenses. Families will receive a 25% credit for these payments if their student is enrolled in a full-time K-12 program.

David Harris, Illinois Department of Revenue Director, urges Illinois residents to “double check their eligibility status and take advantage of these benefits when filing their returns this year.”

Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
kayley@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

Illinois Education Plan - Vision 2030

Vision 2030 is Illinois’ newest plan to improve and re-strategize the state of education throughout its school districts. The initiative seeks to improve safety, encourage high-quality teacher retention, and increase post-secondary student success through structural adjustments. These changes will target standardized testing requirements to make them more effective for student growth. The plan also seeks to attract more diverse educators through pension reform. Executive Director of the Illinois Association of School Boards, Kimberly Small, is quoted as saying the new program “seeks to put systems and processes in place that support all school districts throughout the state in sharing what works for our kids and our communities.”

The plan comes as a development from several teams including The Illinois Association of School Administrators, the Illinois Association of Regional School Superintendents, the Illinois Principals Association, and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials. Each organization is working in tandem to use Vision 2030 as an outline for the implementation of long-lasting legislative and policy changes. Education leaders working on the project claim the new structure will continue to protect the evidence-based practices currently utilized.

Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
kayley@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

Using GPTZero to Combat Plagiarism with ChatGPT

The use of ChatGPT for plagiaristic purposes has been the fear of many educators since the AI tool was released in November of 2022. To combat this issue, Princeton University student Edward Tian has created software he believes to be the solution. Tian’s app, GPTZero, was developed in December of 2022 when the coder took it upon himself to create an app that can determine if a body of text has been created by a human or AI. Tian created the app to protect individuals in the midst of a changing technological landscape stating, “I think it is important for people to bet on independent parties to build the safeguards for their technologies.”

The technology works by measuring two factors: perplexity and burstiness. Perplexity refers to the degree of randomness present in a text. Human-created work often uses language in a more chaotic, disorganized way than AI. Hence, the more random a body of text is, the more likely it is to be human-generated. Burstiness is the second factor that refers to the complexity and diversity of sentence and language structure within a text. AI-generated material is much more uniform in style than human-created text. When individuals write, they vary their structure which creates natural “bursts” throughout the writing. AI has not been able to effectively emulate this ability. Thus, using these mechanisms in tandem, GPTZero is able to effectively determine if a text is AI generated with 98% accuracy.

While 98% effective, many have criticized GPTZero for its inability to distinguish texts that are a mix of human and AI-created. Tian emphasizes the limitations of his app stating that he doesn’t want anyone “making definitive decisions” in regard to the app’s ability to predict AI-generated work. Tian simply seeks to preserve the integrity of authentic composition by thwarting ChatGPT’s potential misuse.

 Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
kayley@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

Technology in the Classroom

As technology continues to explode, educators are doing their best to utilize the expanding field to benefit their students in the classroom. Whether it’s implementing personal computers for students, engaging in coding instruction, or using app-based progress tracking, nearly 90% of teachers claim that utilizing research regarding the integration of technology in their teaching strategies has enriched their student’s educational experience. However, research has found that educators lack a common definition for “technology integration” regarding student achievement thus leading to large discrepancies in the education system.

According to a research study that took place between 2010 and 2021 many educators use technology integration as a means by which to enhance their student’s overall education through the use of enrichment tools. For other educators, utilizing technological advancements simply means allowing their students the opportunity to use new tools without implementing proper scaffolds to help them benefit from them in the long term. There is also inconsistency amongst educators concerning the degree to which technology should be used and the ethicality of such changes. This poses a serious problem for students because educators must have a common understanding of the functions of technology-based learning in order to effectively teach in accordance with changing standards.

Research suggests that to combat this discrepancy, teachers must first be trained to understand the value of technology in the changing world before using it for instructional purposes. Professional development programs are necessary to implement this paradigm shift so that educators have a common lens through which to apply these changes. This includes training teachers to learn what tools add value to their classrooms while averting buzzword-heavy trends that do not support student needs. With a more definitive standard for how technology should be integrated in the classroom, educators will be able to make choices for their students that are grounded in evidence-based research rather than speculation. This will lead to a more constructive use of funds as well as a cohesive experience for students from year to year.

Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
kayley@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266
 
Sources:

https://www.edweek.org/technology/what-weve-learned-about-technology-and-learning-in-the-last-3-years/2023/03
https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2022/09/benefits-integrating-technology-todays-k-12-classrooms-perfcon
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/education/screens-classroom-tool-temptation.html

Test Prep Chicago Believes Black Lives Matter

Dear Test Prep Chicago Family, 

We're writing this today because silence is not an option for us. As a test prep company, we don't tend to take any kind of partisan stance; however, believing that black lives matter isn't a stance-- it's a call for equality, for basic human rights, and for empowering our government to ensure black and brown lives are protected from a fate no one should endure. 

As a small business in Chicago, we take great pride in the diverse makeup of our community. We stand in solidarity with our tutors, students, and families of color, as well as those around the world working to put an end to the systematic racism that brought us here in the first place. 

As an education company, we encourage just that: education. It is important that we continue to engage in the difficult but necessary conversations that will move our nation forward to where it needs to be. We're sharing a document, Say Their Names, that our friends at Chicago Public Schools created to help foster those productive conversations to lead to a better, safer, and more inclusive tomorrow. 

Be well, and stay safe. 

Sincerely,
Charlie and Lauren


Charlie Howard, Owner
charlie@testprepchicago.com

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com

(312) 848-1266

Chicago Teacher Strike

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have yet to reach an agreement over teachers’ contracts. As a result, CTU voted on Friday, September 27, to authorize a strike. The strike itself will take place next week on October 17, 2019, adding a new level of urgency for both parties as the days grow closer and closer.

However, in the past, authorized strikes haven’t always led to a strike since the immense inconvenience a strike inevitably poses leads parties to reach an agreement before the actual date. Many are hopeful that this will be the case. On the contrary, if an agreement is not met, CTU (and their 25,000 union educators) are prepared to follow through. In addition, Park District employees have also recently agreed to participate in the strike, adding even more fuel to the fire.

Within the contractual agreement between CPS and CTU, teachers are requesting higher salaries, lower student-to-teacher ratios, and more nurses, librarians, and special education professionals. CPS is trying to accommodate these requests, but so far, their offers were unsatisfactory. While the idea of a teacher strike isn’t desirable for either party, it would hopefully expedite negotiations.

Thousands of CPS families and community members are equally invested in a resolution between the school district and the union. Closed schools mean students wouldn’t have a place to go during the day, and now that Park Districts are joining in, the displacement of tens of thousands of students seems a likely and very scary possibility for Chicagoans. Young students would require childcare, and older students would miss out on extracurricular activities and athletics. Students receiving free or reduced lunches will be without a school-provided meal, adding financial strain to Chicago families.

Additionally, Test Prep Chicago courses offered at CPS schools and Park Districts will need be rescheduled should there be a strike. Our courses will continue once the strike ends and we will add make-up classes to the end of any course affected by the strikes.  While CPS and CTU are bargaining to find the best results, which will empower teachers to better serve their students and school communities, we hope they are able to do so very soon. 

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266