Lake County Gazette

According to a report on individual school districts across the state, the Illinois education system is defined by poor results, high taxes and little to no accountability.

According to a press release, Wirepoints delved into data from the Illinois State Board of Education and the U.S. Census to generate a collection of new fact sheets emphasizing each school district's statistics. These fact sheets present the results of the state's 20 major school districts, as well as a few others.

The data show that student outcomes are appalling, yet most students pass despite their subpar work, and teachers consistently receive high ratings. Illinois home values continue to underperform in comparison to the rest of the country, while spending and tax burdens are increasing.

According to the Wirepoints analysis, the Illinois education system is defined by poor results, high taxes and little to no accountability, and this is supported by evidence spanning from Mt. Vernon to Rockford and from Quincy to Chicago. Regrettably, the majority of K-12 challenges in Illinois remain unnoticed and do not receive the appropriate level of attention.

The Wirepoints analysis reveals that in Illinois, only 30% of students can read at their grade level, and just 26% can perform math at their grade level. The report also provides a breakdown by ethnicity, with Asian students having the highest rate of proficiency at 59%, followed by white students at 39%, Hispanic students at 18% and Black students at 12%. However, despite these low proficiency rates, 87% of students manage to graduate. The report also notes that 97% of teachers in Illinois are rated as outstanding. Illinois has the highest property taxes in the nation and ranks eighth in per-student spending.

In Lake Forest CHSD 115, only 61% of students are proficient in reading, and just 64% are proficient in math. Asian students have the highest reading proficiency rate at 82%, followed by 62% of white students and 49% of Hispanic students. There is no data available for Black students. Despite the low proficiency rates, the graduation rate is 98%, and all teachers are rated as proficient. Property tax revenues have increased by 23% since 2010, while home values have decreased, and student enrollment has declined by 14%. Spending per student has also increased by 33% from $21,931 to $29,174 in 2021.