Illinois students are struggling to meet proficiency standards on state assessments. Instead of working to improve student learning, the state is lowering standards to hide the crisis.
The Chicago Public Schools board is set to vote on the district’s 2025-2026 budget on Aug. 28. It must close a $734 million budget hole, but the district’s finances are a mess.
Students returned to their Chicago public schools on Aug. 18. The most recent test data available for Chicago students shows there’s a lot of room for improvement in the new school year.
Chicago Public Schools has 275 buildings that are too empty. On average, over 1-in-3 school desks is empty. The Chicago Teachers Union unrelentingly forces that big waste on CPS as administrators scramble to close a $734 million budget shortfall.
Students in Illinois are steadily returning to class across Illinois’ 866 school districts and 3,835 schools. The state’s public schools have a lot of room for improvement to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.
The national Educational Choice for Children Act creates a federal tax-credit scholarship program for both public and private school students to help boost them academically. Here are seven reasons why Illinois should opt into the program.
With most property taxes going to local public schools, Illinois parents and taxpayers should know how well third- through eighth-grade students read and perform math at local public school districts compared to the cost per student.
The North Carolina state legislature became the first in the U.S. to approve a bill joining the Educational Choice for Children Act. Illinois owes the same to its children after taking away private-school choice from over 15,000 low-income students.
About 2-in-5 Illinois elementary students can read at grade level, so there is a lot of room for improvement. Five new bills would improve student outcomes and parental involvement.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s refusal to close near-empty schools and push for more “sustainable community schools” is hurting student achievement. CTU is about adding members and escaping accountability, not about what’s best for Chicago students.
Illinois state lawmakers listened to teachers unions and killed school choice for over 15,000 low-income students in 2023. Now Congress has restored a scholarship program for needy kids, but Illinois leaders must allow families to access the money.
Illinois students are not learning, but instead of boosting the quality of education state leaders are trying to lower standards so scores don’t look as bad. Blame it on the Chicago Teachers Union and other teachers unions pushing for less accountability.
Charter school contracts can be renewed for up to 10 years, but the Chicago Teachers Union has been pressuring for as few as two years. Sowing instability hurts charters and improves CTU’s odds of killing competition for their mediocre product.
Illinois’ university system is losing students to other states as prices per student top the nation. The system and its funding need an overhaul, but state leaders instead are considering letting community colleges create even more competition.