Counter to the governor’s claims, Illinois students’ scores on a national assessment have dropped despite more education spending.
By Hannah Schmid | Illinois Policy Institute
Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently touted Illinois eighth-graders’ reading and math scores as proof of increased public school funding’s effect on student success.
Here’s the reality: Illinois students’ scores have dropped despite that increased spending. And there’s more to the data than Pritzker let on about Illinois students outperforming those in other states.
If the governor wants to help students, he should join the majority of states that are opting into a federal program that provides donor money for students’ targeted needs.
Illinois student scores drop despite increased education spending
In his budget address last month, Pritzker said “historic investments” in public education have boosted student success. But Illinois student performance in both reading and math fell over the most recent 10 years of the National Assessment for Educational Progress.
Those declines weren’t just because of COVID-era shutdowns. Both eighth- and fourth-grade scores were dropping in both reading and math even before schools were closed.
During that same period from 2013 to 2024, the state’s spending on K-12 education rose by nearly $10 billion. That’s a 44% increase over a period when enrollment declined 10%.
Counter to Pritzker’s claims, the increased spending on Illinois schools has not improved student achievement.
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