In the News
Advance Illinois serves as a resource for media outlets from across the state and beyond on policy issues in education from birth to career. Here’s our recent coverage.
Illinois Graduation Rates Hit All-time High, but New Test Score Benchmarks Make Progress Unclear
Illinois’ high school graduation rate has hit a 15-year high, as students continue to show academic growth above pre-pandemic levels, state officials announced Thursday with the release of the 2025 Illinois Report Card.
More Illinois Students are Proficient, New Test Scores Show. But the Cut Scores Changed.
On the first standardized test results reported since Illinois changed the scores needed to be deemed proficient, 52% of students met the bar in English and 38% did so in math.
Illinois Wants to Lower the Bar for Passing State Tests, Saying the Standard is Unfair to Students
On the Illinois State Board of Education’s recent step to adopt new research-informed assessment performance levels, Robin Steans said. “You don’t want those cut scores to be artificially high so that we’re telling parents and kids they’re not ready if they really are. You don’t want them so low that parents and students think everything’s fine when it may not be.”

