According to government data, there are 30 schools in Illinois where not a single student is reading at grade level, Wirepoints reported. Additionally, statewide, there are 53 schools where not one student is proficient in math. The data provided by the Board of Education show Illinois is among a growing number of states who have seen significant declines in academic performance over the past three years. Test scores in the state have plummeted over the last decade despite Illinois’s education spending growing the most out of an any state in the country: on average, Illinois now spends more than $16,000 per student annually. Gov. JB Pritzker recently proposed a $49.6 billion plan for the state, which would focus on preschool and collegiate education spending. The plan would expand preschool education, grow childcare facilities, and provide wage increases for staff. His proposed budget would also include another $506 million for K-12 education. "The truth is that everyone here, the General Assembly, and the members from throughout the state is being prudent about putting more money into our K-12 system," The Center Square quoted Pritzker as saying last week. Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski told The Center Square that simply funneling more money into education will not solve the state’s problems. "We have a real systemic problem, and we shouldn't put a penny more into this," Dabrowski said. "Parents should not allow another penny to go in because it is not about money, it is about accountability." Despite the low academic performance within Illinois’s 852 school districts, the graduation rate for four-year students is more than 87 percent. "Governor Pritzker has to stop celebrating what's happening in education in Illinois and start focusing on the real problem, that’s that kids can't read at grade level, and they can't do math at grade level,” Dabrowski said. “[Pritzker] needs to stop graduating kids. He needs to stop promoting kids until he holds the school districts, the State Board of Education, the teachers, and the parents accountable.”A look at data from the Illinois State Board of Education shows students in dozens of schools are failing to meet standards.
