Last year, 43% of Chicago Public Schools teachers missed 10 or more school days. Statewide, it was 34%.

New Illinois State Board of Education data shows low-income and minority public school students are struggling, scoring well below average.

Chicago Public Schools students struggle in reading and math as just 2-in-5 read at grade level and about 1-in-4 do math proficiently. And that’s after Illinois lowered proficiency standards to make the numbers look better.

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.

Low student proficiency is being hidden in Illinois. Virginia raised its expectations for students.

The Illinois State Board of Education is giving school districts an incentive to study consolidation, but a flawed process still stands in the way. The state has too many school districts, driving up administrative costs and property taxes.

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.

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.