The good news from the release of the ACT scores: Illinois ranks first among the five states where 90 percent or more students take the test, and scores have grown each year since a dip when it became mandatory.

The bad: Improvement is coming in very small increments, with fewer than one in four Illinois graduates ready for college-level work across the subject areas and the state still lagging national averages. We can, in fact, do better.

The Tribune website has both their own article and one from the Associated Press.  Here is ISBE’s press release and the statement from the ACT. Here is the ACT’s chart of state scores, which gives a breakdown by subject area.

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Echoing the advice of Advance Illinois’ June report, a Chicago Tribune editorial says “Illinois lawmakers and educators need to act, and fast. If Illinois blows this, we’ll all watch the Obama administration send Race to the Top money to states that demanded real accountability from the public education industry. That would leave Illinois pols and educrats humiliated — and responsible.” Also, the New York Times takes a look at how the Dept of Education’s Race to the Top Fund has motivated states, and critics, to act.  EdWeek takes a look at how states are navigating the complex application process.

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