By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner | Wirepoints
Illinois’ educational establishment has been doing it for more than five decades. Year after year they’ve automatically advanced kids that can’t read or do math at grade level. They’ve graduated kids that are nowhere near proficiency levels on the SAT. And they always tell parents all is well.
They just did it again this month when the State Board of Education and Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the new state 2024 education results. This time to give the illusion of success, they conflated record graduation rates with improved elementary scores. Gov. Pritzker told parents: “This year’s report card shows we’ve reached the highest grad rate in 14 years at 87.7% AND the highest-ever proficiency rate in English Language Arts in grades 3-8.”
Tricky. When bragging about record graduation rates, it’s not elementary scores but rather high school SAT scores that matter. And those SAT scores are at or near all-time lows. Student reading proficiency statewide is down nearly 9 percentage points and math is down by over 10 points compared to 2017 when Illinois began using the SAT.
Note that the scores on the SAT – a requirement for all juniors in Illinois – were trending down even before the pandemic began.
But few parents are going know about those collapsing scores thanks to a five-step process Illinois education officials use to make public education look better than it really is:
Step 1. Lead with lofty statements to set the stage. Use phrases like “reaching new heights”…“powerful example of success”…”delivering real results.” Make sure to throw in the word “investment” several times. From ISBE:
“Students are reaching new heights & educators are setting a powerful example of success…our investments in students are delivering real results as Illinois continues to bounce back stronger from the challenges set by the pandemic. ~ @GovPritzker.
Step 2. Highlight “positive” stats and conflate the data where needed. In this case, tie record graduation rates to higher elementary-level reading scores.
Step 3. Ensure the media echoes the same message throughout the state. Use sympathetic traditional media sources to spread official talking points.
Step 4. Name-call anybody that challenges the narrative. Use terms like “carnival barker” and “denier” for groups that reveal the truth. Gov. Pritzker did exactly that in a gubernatorial debate in 2020 when challenged about Illinois’ school results (see Instagram Reel here).
Step 5. Rinse and repeat. Push the same narrative regarding “improvements” and “investments” just like in 2023, and 2022, and 2021 and 2019…
That’s how politicians perpetuate the system. It’s what prompted the Wall Street Journal to write: Illinois’s Shocking Report Card: The Land of Lincoln is failing its children and covering it up.
Read more here.
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