Sangamon Sun

Earlier this month, 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. This is not to say that the students who make up the 36% and 36.7% are the same but it is fair to say that students that fall behind have a difficult time catching back up.

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, there were 30% of black third graders who 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%. Zero percent of Mount Vernon Black third graders could. In Waukegan, 56% are listed as “on track” to graduate and 87% in Mount Vernon.

According to The Center Square, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (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, The Center Square reported. Since 2020, CPS have seen an enrollment decline of 8.9%, which could be an indicator of issues within the school district.

Sandy Hamilton, candidate for Illinois state Senate District 48, voiced her opinion on the issue. 

“Illinois’ education system is failing,” Hamilton told the Sangamon Sun. “Democrats in Springfield have spent their time creating a system that not only fills the pockets of teacher’s unions and overpaid school administrators, but their own pockets as well. Democrats like Doris Turner have created a pipeline that pushes students along, even when they don’t meet educational standards.”

Hamilton said taxpayers have the right to know where the money school districts spend on each student is going.

“School districts in Illinois pay up to an egregious $30,000 per student annually,” Hamilton said. “Where is this money going?”

Hamilton is running as a "conservative who wants to govern while not sacrificing core principles." She told the Sangamon Sun that if elected, she will “fight to not only make education spending more transparent, but to put the priorities of our students over special interests.”

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.

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

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.