80 Illinois schools are ‘zero-proficiency’ in math despite above-average spending

Eighty Illinois schools don’t have a single student proficient in math, and 24 have no student proficient in reading, despite many schools spending more than the annual state average of $24,700 per pupil.

A Wirepoints analysis of the state’s 2024 report card found the number of schools failing in math was up from 67 in 2023, although the number failing in reading was down from 32. Proficiency was based on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness test for grades 3-8 and the SAT test for high schoolers.

“More than 18,000 students attend Illinois’ zero-proficiency schools. Every single one of those children will struggle in life because they lack basic reading and math skills,” the report said. 

Even more shocking: On average, the low-performing schools graduated 70% of their students last year. 

State officials have long tried to dress up the state’s dismal results, which have fallen further since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Students across Illinois are reaching new heights and educators are setting a powerful example of success,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said about last year’s report, which included similar lackluster results. 

They’ve also continued boosting funding to public schools – and fighting against school choice programs, such as Invest in Kids, which the Democrat-led state allowed to expire in 2023. Even the left-leaning Chicago Tribune criticized lawmakers for depriving poor students of viable education options. 

“Fund students, not systems,” posted school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis in reaction to the state’s latest scores. 

Chicago schools spend yet lag 

Of the 80 failing schools, more than half are in Chicago Public Schools, a beleaguered district known for high spending, high debt and dismal results. But the powerful Chicago Teachers Union has lobbied to keep schools open, even when they are failing or operating at minimal efficiency. 

According to the analysis, most of the CPS schools on the list spend at or above the state average. Two spend substantially more: Spry Community Links High School spends $60,752 per student for its 60 pupils, and Douglass Academy High School spends a whopping $93,787 each for its 35 students. Yet all the money doesn’t translate into academic success. 

The report highlights Harlan Community Academy High School, which spends nearly $35,000 per student and graduates 64% of its students – yet none were proficient on the math SAT. 

And the Illinois State Board of Education ranked Chicago’s Dunbar Vocational Career Academy “commendable,” the state’s second-highest rating, despite all students failing in math and just 2% scoring proficient in reading. Dunbar spends nearly $27,000 per student and graduates 72% of its students. 

Several charter schools also made the list. Some cater specifically to dropouts and at-risk students, but the report notes, “that’s no excuse for allowing every single student to fail at those schools. Especially since officials still end up graduating about 40% of students.” 

The CPS homepage highlights its rising graduation rate, and Pritzker’s statement last year heralded an 87.7% graduation rate for black students – the highest in 14 years. 

But graduating uneducated students has a cost, Wirepoints says, advocating instead for educational freedom. 

“Either our lawmakers will finally join the national wave of universal school choice that’s taking over the country, or Illinois will continue to lose. More Illinoisans will leave. Our workforce will be increasingly weakened. And more people will become dependent on government.”