Illinois students are struggling to meet proficiency standards on state assessments. Instead of working to improve student learning, the state wants to lower standards to hide the crisis.
By Hanna Schmid | Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois students are struggling and the state ought to invest in improving their mastery of reading and mathematics. Instead, Illinois State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders wants to lower proficiency benchmarks on state assessments.
State data shows only 41% of students in third through eighth grade could read at grade level in 2024 and just 31% in 11th grade. In math, 28% of third through eighth graders were proficient and 26% of 11th graders.
Sanders said his plan will “right-size our benchmarks for proficiency on state assessments to provide us with more accurate data about student performance.”
Lowering proficiency benchmarks will inflate the percentage of students meeting proficiency standards, but it does little to improve students’ performance or their actual mastery of subject matter. Rather than providing a more accurate view of student performance, it simply obscures the crisis of students struggling to meet proficiency in core subjects and likely denies students the extra help they need.
Illinois proposes lowering proficiency benchmarks to more closely align to nation
The National Assessment of Educational Progress measures student achievement in reading and math for fourth and eighth grade students every two years. In Illinois, 30% of fourth graders met NAEP proficiency standards in 2024 and 33% of eighth graders. In math, 38% of Illinois fourth graders met NAEP’s math proficiency standards and 32% of eighth graders.
Illinois students matched or outperformed the national average proficiency level in reading for fourth and eighth grade and slightly underperformed and outperformed the national average in math for both grades.
But matching or outperforming the national average is a low bar for students. Even as Illinois students outperform the national average on some NAEP assessments, most Illinois students do not meet NAEP’s proficiency benchmarks.
Read more here.
Eliminate the IL State Board of Education, save some taxpayer money.
Lowering academic proficiency benchmarks isn’t reform—it’s surrender. It’s a quiet admission that the system has failed to equip students with essential skills, and rather than fixing the root issues, we’re being sold a repackaged illusion of progress. What’s worse is how easily people—many of them college-educated—accept these shifts without questioning the deeper implications. From politics to media, too many are swayed by comforting narratives or clever propaganda dressed up as equity or modernization.
This is more than just an education story—it’s a warning sign. Instead of investing in teaching excellence, curriculum rigor, and globally competitive standards, we’re normalizing underperformance. We’re not preparing the next generation to compete with peers in Singapore, South Korea, Finland, or even Poland—we’re protecting them from the reality that they’re behind.
The truth? The U.S. consistently ranks mediocre at best:
In PISA scores (OECD global education rankings), the U.S. is below average in math and average in reading and science.
When it comes to IQ ranking by country, the U.S. falls around #28–32 globally, trailing behind nations with stronger educational cultures.
Lowering standards now doesn’t just fail our students—it handicaps future innovators, scientists, and leaders. It ensures we’re not just falling behind, but doing so willingly.