Test Scores Decline During Pandemic
On Thursday the Illinois State Board of Education released new test results from the 2021 student assessments. Unsurprisingly, declines were registered across the state with English- learner, Black, and disabled children showing the largest declines.
Read news articles here or here which include links to certain schools test results.
This excerpt from the ISBE press release is alarming:
“Statewide, as ISBE reported in October, 16.6 percent fewer students met grade-level standards in English language arts in 2021 than in 2019 and 17.8 percent fewer students met grade-level standards in math.”
The press release went on to mention a handful of schools that showed increases in student scores. Notes provided showed that those schools emphasized in-person instruction, one-on-one instruction, smaller class sizes and focused attention on students needing the most help.
Crain’s Chicago Business wrote one of the more comprehensive reports. Here are a few key points from that article:
- Prior to the pandemic, Illinois students had largely flatlined in reading and math,a data point that was already a source of concern. While districts across the state are still assessing learning loss from the pandemic year, initial data from the IAR and SAT shows the number of students overall meeting the state’s learning standards dropped 17.8% in math and 16.6% in English language arts.
- Across three emergency relief packages, Illinois school districts will receive about $7 billion in federal dollars for pandemic response. It’s too early for a full accounting of how districts will spend those funds, but at least 20% must go to learning recovery, federal officials have said.
- In Rockford, the state’s third largest school district, where about two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, three in four eligible students took the test. Proficiency rates in third grade reading, which were 14% pre-pandemic, fell further.
- Scores on the college-entrance SAT exam slipped for Illinois 11th graders who took the test last spring but not at the same dramatic rates. Statewide, 33.4% of Illinois juniors demonstrated proficiency in the English Language Arts portion of the test, with just under 30% meeting or exceeding standards in math, compared to rates of 36% in English language arts and 34.4% in math before the pandemic in 2019.
To be clear, prior to the pandemic, only one-third of Illinois students performed at grade level. These performance levels are unacceptable. As a state, total spending on public education approaches $40 billion dollars. For all that money spent, Illinois doesn’t have much to show for it compared to other states. A Wirepoints special report shows that Illinois spends more per student than any other state in the mid-West. We have increased our spending between 2007 and 2019 more than any other state and yet, since 2007 our scores have flatlined. Read the special report by Wirepoints here.
Send Pritzker A Reminder
Not only did J.B. Pritzker and his Democrat puppets recently jet off to a climate change summit in Europe, (while blatantly ignoring the looming problems at home), now it has come out that he described himself as “the Governor of Chicago”.
What does the Governor of Illinois have to do with the U.N. anyway?!?
If you would like to remind the governor that there is a lot more to Illinois than Chicago,
Dangers of Flawed Crime Policy
Homicide, smash and grab looting, arson, drug and human trafficking…you name it. Crime across the board has skyrocketed under Democrat rule and their ‘defund the police’ mentality. Nothing is more horrifically heartbreaking than the devastation unleashed by a career criminal in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
More Vaccine Madness
Penn State Employees Who Refuse Vaccination Face Reeducation
National Guard Members Who Refuse Vaccination Face Ban on Training and Withheld Pay
But Americans Aren’t Having It
New Rulings Halt Biden Vaccine Mandate
Record Number of Workers Quit Jobs to Become Self-Employed Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Illinois Fun Facts:
Illinois is a leading producer of soybeans, corn and swine. The state’s climate and varied soil types enable farmers to grow and raise many other agricultural commodities, including cattle, wheat, oats, sorghum, hay, sheep, poultry, fruits and vegetables. Illinois also produces several specialty crops, such as buckwheat, horseradish, ostriches, fish and Christmas trees.
Illinois has around 72,000 farms that cover 27 million acres — about 75 percent of the state’s total land area.
Find a Christmas tree farm near you!
We Are Here To Serve You!
As a state representative, my office is available to assist you with any issues you may have when interacting with a state agency. Whether you need help with unemployment claims, getting a FOID card, renewing your drivers license or resolving a tax problem, we are here to serve you.
Oftentimes, some of the best legislation comes from people who see where the law is unworkable or simply unfair.
If you have ideas on how the state of Illinois could improve, let’s sit down and discuss if a legislative fix is needed.
Please call our office at 217.876.1968 to get help or schedule an appointment to see me. The office is located at 715 W Imboden Dr, Decatur.
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