Illinois public school students are returning to classrooms where just 53.1% of third- through eighth-graders met proficiency standards in reading and only 38.5% were proficient in math on state assessments in 2025, according to a new report from the Illinois Policy Institute. The figures reveal persistent academic struggles despite loosened testing standards implemented this spring. The report also finds chronic absenteeism remains far above pre-pandemic levels, with one in four students missing at least 10% of the school year.
The proficiency numbers look even worse for specific student populations and grade levels. Among third-graders—a critical reading milestone—just 47.3% met or exceeded the state's reading standard in 2025. Only 27.8% of Black third-graders, 34.7% of Hispanic third-graders, and 32.7% of low-income third-graders reached proficiency. High school juniors taking the ACT as the state assessment fared similarly, with 51.7% proficient in English language arts and 39.3% in math. Chronic absenteeism hit 25% statewide, nearly 8 percentage points higher than the 17.5% rate in 2018-19, the last full school year before pandemic closures. The problem was more severe among vulnerable groups: 35.1% of low-income students, 39.3% of Black students, and 31.7% of Hispanic students were chronically absent. Public school enrollment has grown only twice in the past 15 years, with the largest single-year drop of nearly 70,000 students occurring in 2020-2021.
The report emphasizes that the state changed the scores considered proficient beginning with spring 2025 assessments, making student performance appear better on paper and preventing parents from making clean comparisons with prior years. According to the authors, "Students who don't master reading in the early grades face greater difficulty throughout school and could enter adulthood with fewer opportunities." The report stresses that third grade is when students must move from learning to read in early grades to reading to learn in later grades, and when a child can't read proficiently by the end of third grade, every subject becomes harder.
The report argues that families make schooling choices for many reasons, but persistent academic struggles, high absenteeism, and a lack of confidence in whether schools are meeting students' needs should concern state and local leaders. The authors explain that falling birth rates threaten to continue the state's enrollment decline, along with outmigration and families choosing alternative schooling. To address these challenges, the report points to literacy reforms used in other states: screening every student in first through third grade early in the year, providing timely individualized interventions for students who are behind, notifying parents quickly and keeping them involved, using evidence-based reading instruction grounded in phonemic awareness and phonics, and requiring discussions about grade advancement when a student's reading deficiency hasn't been remedied by year's end.
The report recommends parents and community members stay engaged with their schools and push school boards to create policies aimed at ensuring the best educational and financial outcomes in their districts. The authors identify making sure more students can read proficiently by the end of third grade as a vital first step toward ensuring every student graduates with the skills to succeed after high school. With Illinois' low academic proficiency, high absenteeism, and enrollment declines, the report makes clear that the state's public school system has significant room to improve.