Newly released data from state assessments show just half of Illinois public school students could read at grade level and 2-in-5 could do math proficiently in 2025. That’s after the state lowered proficiency standards to make the numbers look better.
By Hannah Schmid | Illinois Policy Institute
Just over half of Illinois public school students could read at grade level and 39% were proficient in math on 2025 state assessments, according to newly released data from the Illinois State Board of Education.
That’s after the state artificially inflated the number of students meeting standards by lowering the scores needed to be considered “proficient” in reading and math in 2025.
That means many students are reported as “proficient” but are struggling. And by changing the standards, parents are unable to compare proficiency rates in their schools or districts to previous school years.
The data also shows enrollment continues to decline and absenteeism remains high.
How many students are reading or doing math at grade level?
Data released on Oct. 30 by the Illinois State Board of Education shows the reading and math proficiency rates for third through eighth grade students on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness and 11th graders on the ACT.
Even after changing the way the state determines if a student is proficient under the IAR, the scores are still troublesome:
- 53% of students were proficient in reading on the IAR for 3rd-8th grade
- 39% of students were proficient in math on the IAR for 3rd-8th grade
- 52% of students were proficient in reading on the ACT for 11th grade
- 39% of students were proficient in math on the ACT for 11th grade
That means nearly half of students still did not meet proficiency standards in reading on both the IAR and ACT, and more than half could not perform math proficiently, even after the state manipulated the numbers.
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