Metro East Sun

This week, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board detailed a report from Wirepoints regarding Illinois schools that it described as "shocking." The report found that the majority of third-graders could not read at grade level. Many state-level candidates are promising to provide better representation than their incumbent opponents have for their constituents if elected.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Opinion article titled Illinois’s Shocking Report Card stated that in 2019, pre-COVID-19, 36% of all third-grade students in Illinois could read at grade level. The article continued on to point out that by third grade it is crucial for students to be proficient in reading because the following grades build on this skill, such as reading comprehension.

The Illinois State Report Card reported that in 2019, only 36.7% of Juniors met English Language Arts (ELA) standards.

The WSJ Opinion piece went further to identify the Decatur, Rockford, Peoria, Elgin, and Chicago school districts that stand out in terms of poor performance.

A 2019 Wirepoints report found that of third graders in Decatur public schools, only 2% of Black and 16% of White students could read at grade level. In Rockford, only 7% of Black students could read at grade level. In Peoria, 8% of Black students. In Elgin, only 11% of Hispanic students. And in Chicago, 30% of Black third graders could read at grade level. The article stated that similar results can be found across the state. For example, the percentage of Waukegan Hispanic third-grade students that could read at grade level was 16%. 0% of Mount Vernon Black third graders could read at grade level. In Waukegan, 56% percent are listed as “on track” to graduate, with 87% on track in Mount Vernon.

According to The Center Square, the NEA and the AFT, the largest teacher’s unions in the United States, suggested that additional funding would solve performance issues in core subjects and teacher shortages.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) now spends over $29,000 per student compared to $17,800 in 2020 which was in tandem with the Illinois state average.

As of 2021, CPS performance in the classroom declined with only 26% of juniors being able to read or practice math at grade level according to the Illinois Report Card.

Kevin Schmidt, candidate for State Representative in the 114th District, made a statement on Facebook voicing his opinion on the issue. 

"There seems to be a belief in Springfield that all we have to do to improve education is spend more money, but this approach is not working," Schmidt said in the Facebook post. "Nearly $30,000 is spent per pupil in the Chicago Public Schools but the student grades and attendance in the City are plummeting. We can all agree spending money on education is extremely important, but we should not be spending money simply for the sake of spending money. We need accountability for how these dollars are being spent and ensure that the outcomes are commiserate with taxpayers’ investment in education."

“Unlike my opponent, LaToya Greenwood, who is not even asking questions about how our tax dollars are spent, I will demand accountability,” Schmidt added in his post.

As of 2019, 91% of teachers in Chicago were considered “excellent or proficient” according to Wirepoints.

The Illinois State Report Card reported 2021 SAT results statewide showed only 33% of Juniors met or exceeded ELA standards and 29.3% met or exceeded in mathematics.