Illinois graduation rates hit all time high, but new test score benchmarks make progress unclear

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...

Curriculum reform must focus on engagement, not just attainment

Chronic absenteeism is the visible tip of a deeper crisis. England’s schools do not only have an attendance problem; we also face an engagement problem. 

Too many young people are voting with their feet because school does not feel designed for them. As the curriculum and assessment review reaches its final stages, this truth must be at its core: curriculum and assessment shape motivation as well as attainment...

Taking student survey data seriously

Student perceptions and experiences inform a high school’s culture and climate and have a lasting impact on students’ ability to be successful after graduating. As more and more high schools seek to blur the lines between high school, postsecondary, and workforce, educators, administrators, and superintendents need information that captures how high schoolers feel and experience this transition and the support they receive.

Subscribe to