By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The CEnter Square) – The latest education statistics indicate stagnant proficiency for public school students in Illinois, despite dramatic increases in taxpayer funding.

Kelsey Bakken, director of policy for Advance Illinois, said the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data shows stagnant academic proficiency for Illinois public school students.

“Only about a third of students are demonstrating proficiency in reading and math based on the NAEP, a trend that has remained remarkably stable for the last 15 years,” Bakken said.

Bakken said Illinois has increased education spending more than most other states.

“Funding for K-12 schools grew 75% between 2008 and 2024, increasing our ranking from 47th to 18th,” Bakken said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his administration increased its commitment to students by more than $2.8 billion, a 33% increase in school funding by Illinois taxpayers. The state’s education budget for the 2025-26 school year is a record-high $11.2 billion.

The increased spending has come during the latter half of a time period in which school enrollments have dropped. Public school enrollment for K-12 students in the Land of Lincoln decreased 10.3% from 2010 to 2024.

Elected officials and political candidates are offering different ways forward as public school students continue to struggle.

Although the Advance Illinois report said Illinois narrowed equity gaps across the education continuum, state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, said policy changes are necessary to close gaps involving race, economics and zip code.

“Every single year, we should not say, ‘Well, we’ve got gaps, but you know…’ At some point, gaps have to be closed,” Ammons said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowksi said the governor’s education policies have failed.

“Two years ago, Gov. Pritzker and the Democrats allowed school choice to die. They killed the only school choice legislation we had. They could have kept it going, and they let it die,” Dabrowski said.

Dabrowski said states all around Illinois have universal school choice.

In addition to academic challenges, Bakken pointed to “troubling” chronic absenteeism in public schools.

“Student wellness trends, including chronic absenteeism are at a historic and worrisome level,” Bakken said, adding that rates have increased 8% since the pandemic.

The overall statewide chronic absenteeism rate for Illinois public school students was 26% in 2024, up from 18% in 2019.

Bakken said college and career readiness has been dropping and is something that would be worth investigating.

Data showed that 38% of students showed college and career readiness in 2015, but the number was down to 30% last year.

Greg Bishop contributed to this story.