Illinois state education administrators celebrated academic progress in 2023, but student achievement is still behind where it was before COVID-19 hit. Chronic absenteeism remained high. Enrollment dropped again.
By Hannah Schmid | Illinois Policy
Illinois state education administrators are celebrating “strong progress” for Illinois students as proficiency in both reading and math increased between 2022 and 2023, based on data from the newly released Illinois Report Card.
But what remained consistent was fewer students were performing at or above grade level in 2023 than prior to the pandemic.
The data shows only 35% of students could read at grade level in 2023. Only 27% met proficiency in math.
Illinois Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said the state has a “significant distance to travel” toward recovery after pandemic-era school closures caused record-low proficiency rates statewide.
Reading proficiency remains 6% lower in 2023 than in 2019, the last test data prior to pandemic-era school closures, and 15% lower in math.
Proficiency rates rise, but still fail to meet pre-pandemic levels
Illinois State Board of Education data on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness reports 35% of third- through eighth-grade students could read at grade level in spring 2023 and 27% were proficient in math. This marks a 17% and 6% increase in proficiency rates since 2022.
But proficiency for Illinois students still falls short of pre-pandemic levels.
Read on here.
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