¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý

(WSIL) -- The State of Illinois saw some highs and lows in the annual Report Card by the State Board of Education.Ìý

Illinois has 852 total districts throughout the state, which includes 3,841 schools. Of the schools in the state:

• 372 exemplary
  • Highest-performing 10 percent of schools
• 2,831 commendable
  • All other schools that are not Exemplary, Comprehensive, or Targeted
• 318 targeted
  • Would be Commendable or Exemplary based on overall performance, but has one or more student groups on par with the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools
• 197 comprehensive
  • Lowest-performing 5 percent of schools

Click each county to find your local district's report card.

Here are some of the findings in this year's report:

Graduation Rate

Illinois notched its highest graduation rate in a decade at 87 percent. That is for students who entered 9th grade in 2018 and graduated in 4 years.Ìý

The graduation rate is 0.5% higher than 2021 and more than 4% higher than 10 years ago.

When looking at demographics, white students had a graduation rate of over 90%. That is different for other races with black students graduated at 79.5%, Hispanics coming in at 85%, Asians seeing 94.8%, Native Americans graduating at a rate of 80% and Pacific Islanders seeing 86.3% graduate/Ìý

Illinois Assessment of Readiness

When looking at the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, the percentage of students prepared for the next level of learning, there are some variations.Ìý

• English Language Arts
  • 23.1% Did not meet performance levels
  • 21% Partially met
  • 25.8% Approaches
  • 26% Met
  • 4.1% Exceeded
• Math
  • 22.1% Did not meet performance levels
  • 27.4% Partially met
  • 25% Approaches
  • 21.6% Met
  • 3.9% Exceeded

When looking at the data compared to 2021, students improved their readiness for the next level in 2022 by a couple percentage points.Ìý

State Environment

Nearly 85% of students entering Kindergarten are educationally ready for the next step.Ìý

The average classroom size across the state is 20 students, which is on par with the last several years.Ìý

When looking at district finances, 48% of expenditures are on instruction, 2% on general administration, 29% on support services and 20% on miscellaneous expenses.

College and Career Readiness

Different types of classes can prepare students for the next stages after high school.Ìý

Students taking one of more dual credit courses jumped by 1,000 with 80,917 enrolled.Ìý

More than 136,000 students enrolled in one of more AP courses and more than 39,000 took one or more AP exams.Ìý

Now when looking atÌýCareer and Technical Education (CTE) courses, more than 291,000 students were enrolled. That is a more than 4 thousand student enrollment jump.Ìý

National Assessment of Educational Progress

Illinois students scored above the national average in both reading and math for both grade 4 and grade 8.

Enrollment, Absenteeism, Drop Out Rates, Homelessness, Low-Income

Illinois enrollment has stabilized post-pandemic time, but is still trending downward.Ìý

• 2022: 1.896 million
• 2021: 1.887 million
• 2020: 1.957 million
• 2019:Ìý1.984 million
• 2018:Ìý2.001 million
• 2017: 2.028 million
• 2016: 2.041 million
• 2015: 2.054 million

Absenteeism is still a growing problem among Illinois students. Chronic absenteeism is missing 10% or more of school days per year, with or without a valid excuse.

When looking at race, the absenteeism varies differently for your cultural background.Ìý

Drop out rates remained very low for all demographics, with 3.3% of all students dropping out of school.

When looking at the home life for these students, 2% of enrolled students in the State of Illinois are homeless.Ìý

Low-income households are still at a high rate statewide. 46.5% of students are low-income, which is a 2% drop from the previous school year.Ìý

Teachers

Illinois has a total of 134,000 teachers, with 59% holding a master's degree or higher. The average salary for teachers statewide now sits at more than $72,000.

The ratio of students to teachers is 17:1 and the retention rate for all teachers if 88%. According to the Report Card, 97% of teachers are proficient or excellent at their jobs. And 66% of teachers hold fewer than 10 absences in a school year.Ìý

Administrators

When looking at administrators, there is an average of 147 students per every administrators. Their average salary is $116,000.

Demographics aren't as diverse in administration.Ìý

• White: 76%
• Black: 14%
• Hispanic: 7%
• Asian: 1%
• Pacific Islander: 0.1%
• Two or more races: 0.8%

To learn more about this year's Report Card and see all the data .Ìý