The 2025 Illinois Report Card data was just released, and it includes “new aligned performance levels” for English, math and science tests. That’s because this school year began with new test standards for students in Illinois put in place by the Illinois State Board of Education, effectively lowering the point at which students are considered “proficient” or “meeting standards.” Some families and policy leaders have expressed worry that this change to Illinois testing policy means a drop in expectations, particularly since the old standards were intended to line up with progress toward college readiness benchmarks on college admissions exams, like the SAT and ACT.
But a closer look shows the new proficiency benchmarks don’t sacrifice college readiness. Instead, they can fix the underestimation of students’ abilities that the old benchmarks fueled...