Illinois State Board of Education publishes 2024 Illinois Report Card

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - The Illinois State Board of Education published the 2024 Illinois Report Card Wednesday.

ISBE, Illinois State Board of Education — Photo from Illinois State Board of Education Facebook Page.

ISBE said the report card showed Illinois students in grades 3-8 charting the highest-ever proficiency rate in English language arts. Illinois high schools also set a record for the highest-ever four-year graduation rate, including steady gains for Black students.

“Students across Illinois are reaching new heights and educators are setting a powerful example of success,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This year’s Report Card shows our highest graduation rate in 14 years at 87.7%, led by the incredible achievements of Black students, and strengthened by the state’s investments in Career and Technical Education. It’s equally exciting to see our youngest learners achieve the highest-ever proficiency rate in English Language Arts. These milestones demonstrate that our investments in students are delivering real results as Illinois continues to bounce back stronger from the challenges set by the pandemic.”

“Illinois has seen tremendous, nation-leading recovery in English language arts, thanks to the talented teachers, principals, and superintendents in schools across the state who have worked diligently to implement shifts in their literacy practices,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “We have also set a new record for our high school graduation rate. Expanded access to advanced coursework and Career and Technical Education has made high school more rigorous and more relevant and kept students engaged. Our educators, students, and families should feel incredibly proud of how we have come together in the wake of the pandemic not just to recover but to emerge even stronger.”

Students in grades 3-8 achieved a proficiency rate of 40.9%, the highest ever since students began taking the Illinois Assessment of Readiness back in 2019. The overall state-level ELA proficiency rates now exceed pre-pandemic levels for students in every race/ethnicity group, as well as English Learners, students with IEPs, and low-income students, ISBE said. Black students achieved the largest year-over-year gains, seeing a 26% increase in the percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards.

ISBE led an effort starting in October 2022 to develop the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan. The plan guides districts in looking at their local practices and data and making changes to implement evidence-based literacy instruction.

Illinois’ high school graduation rate reached an all-time, 14-year high at 87.7%, including steady gains for Black students over the past six years.

The rate of ninth graders on track to graduate has also risen steadily and exceeds the pre-pandemic rate, ISBE reported. Students on track at the end of ninth grade are four times as likely to graduate, according to University of Chicago research.

ISBE also reported participation in Career and Technical Education and in advanced coursework continued to rise in 2024, and they said Illinois students participating in CTE have higher graduation rates than their peers. Research also shows that students participating in advanced coursework, such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual credit, have higher graduation rates.

CTE participation grew among all major student groups with participation among English Learners rising 33% since 2022.

ISBE is launching a statewide effort to develop a comprehensive math and numeracy plan to accelerate math recovery. The math proficiency rate for grades 3-8 rose slightly. However, recovery has been slower in math than in ELA, ISBE said. The overall state-level math proficiency rates increased in every race/ethnicity group, as well as among English Learners, students with IEPs, and low-income students, but remained lower than pre-pandemic levels. The forthcoming statewide math and numeracy plan will offer Illinois educators the first comprehensive support in math instruction since Illinois adopted its new math learning standards in 2010.

Chronic absenteeism declined another 7% from 28.3% in 2023 to 26.3% in 2024. ISBE said absenteeism remains highest and has been slowest to improve among high school students. Research links high absenteeism to lower test scores.

ISBE said, "While Illinois has seen outstanding recovery for grades 3-8 and a record-high graduation rate, ELA and math recovery in high school lag. Proficiency rates in high school have trended down since 2019, and slightly smaller percentages of high school students met or exceeded grade-level standards last year, compared to the year before."

ISBE attributes the phenomenon of rising graduation rates yet lagging proficiency rates in part to the structure of the states’ accountability system, which incentivizes graduation but not growth in high schools. Year-over-year growth counts for 50% of the accountability score for elementary and middle schools.

The accountability system does not include a growth indicator for high schools. The graduation rate counts for 50% of the accountability score for high schools, incentivizing schools to focus on improving graduation rates.

Both graduation and proficiency measure whether or not a student met a set of standards/requirements.

ISBE will begin calculating a growth percentile for high schools starting with 2024-25 school year assessments.

Illinois has cut the number of Illinois graduates in community college having to enroll in remedial courses by 44% since 2014. ISBE partnered with other state agencies to implement transitional math and English courses at high schools statewide, which guarantee students' direct placement into credit-bearing courses at all community colleges and accepting Illinois universities without a placement test.

ISBE said Illinois has more teachers than ever before in the teacher workforce and a greater number of Hispanic, Black, and Asian teachers. The number of teachers has grown year-over-year since FY 2018 when the state enacted Evidence-Based Funding. However, they said teacher supply has not kept pace with growing demand, and Illinois does have a shortage of teachers, especially in bilingual and special education and in rural and urban areas.

Illinois has driven increases in teacher recruitment and retention through investment in teacher pipeline initiatives, including the $45 million Teacher Vacancy Grant in both FY 2024 and 2025, which provides funding to the 170 districts with the greatest teacher shortages; CTE Education Career Pathways Grants that prepare current high school students for careers in teaching; and a $6 million teacher recruitment marketing campaign, The Answer Is Teaching.

Illinois schools enrolled greater numbers of English Learners and more Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students in the 2023-24 school year, ISBE reports.

The 2024 Illinois Report Card provides a snapshot of school performance data from the 2023-24 school year.

Visit lllinoisreportcard.com for interactive graphs and visualizations and download spreadsheets of all 2024 data, state-level 15-year trend data, and student growth percentiles on the ISBE Report Card webpage.