Key Findings

• A near-record high number of CPS students from the class of 2024 graduated from high school (84%) and immediately enrolled in college (66%).
  • The 2024 high school graduation rate is approaching the national average of 87%.
  • CPS out-performs the most recent national college enrollment rate by 5 percentage points (66% vs. 61%, respectively).

Almost a decade ago, No Child Left Behind was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and with that change, Illinois overhauled its school accountability system. Instead of judging schools on how many kids passed a standardized test, we moved to look at many other ingredients of school quality. (Here’s a throwback to our cake video from that era!) 

The Chicago Board of Education continues to grapple with handling charter school closures. Yesterday, the board approved an early termination of its charter renewal agreement with EPIC Academy, a high school in the South Chicago neighborhood. It also approved supporting EPIC with $1.4 million to ensure it can operate through the end of the year, preventing a midyear closure. 

The Illustrative Scope & Sequence includes: 

• Sample timeline of activities
• Detailed overviews of each suggested activity or session, including relevant resources
• Examples of how actual schools used Cultivate in one or more improvement cycles
• Resource library 

Who are these resources for? 

Key Points 

The 2025 Illinois Report Card data was just released, and it includes “new aligned performance levels” for English, math and science tests.

Illinois’ high school graduation rate has hit a 15-year high, as students continue to show academic growth above pre-pandemic levels, state officials announced Thursday with the release of the 2025 Illinois Report Card. 

The state’s four-year graduation rate reached 89%, up 6.2% from 2024. Students recorded progress in other key areas, including an increase in the number of ninth graders on track to graduate and a dip in chronic absenteeism...

Far too often, educators are inundated with data that feels overwhelming, irrelevant, or unhelpful. In Using Data to Improve Schools, nationally recognized expert on school transformation and student achievement Elaine Allensworth offers a framework for understanding the critical properties of data and the tools educators need to focus on the metrics that matter most for student achievement.