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 Now Ranks 18th in Nation for State Education Spending Per Student, Report Says
Illinois is no longer one of the worst states in America when it comes to funding K-12 schools, an improvement that may have helped it weather some of the COVID pandemic’s disruption to student learning, according to a new report.
Report: Illinois Ranks in Top 10 for Academic Growth from 3rd to 8th Grade, Proficiency Remains Low
A new report shows Illinois educational attainment continues to rise, and the state's schools weathered pandemic challenges better than other states.
Report Highlights Better State Funding for Education and Growth in Some Areas
Eight years after putting in place a tool that gauges kindergarten readiness, more children in Illinois are showing up to elementary school ready to go, but gaps between different groups of students remain and are pronounced, according to a new report on public education in the state.
New Study on Illinois’ Public Education System Sees Promise and Problems
Education in Illinois shows promising areas of growth — including improved kindergarten readiness and increased graduation rates — but remains hampered by stagnant reading and math literacy, as well as rising higher education costs, according to a new report.
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.”