Illinois Report Card Shows Student Gains in Key Areas

Schools across the West40 area and Illinois received their state report cards on Friday and the state is celebrating a variety of gains in key metrics of student success.

Illinois has set a new record for its highest-ever four year graduation rate of 89.8%, which continues a long-term trend of improvement. Students across the state also made academic proficiency gains in English language arts (ELA), math, and science.  Attendance continues to improve and the teacher workforce continues to grow and be more reflective of the student population.

According to Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) data, chronic absenteeism declined for the fourth consecutive year. ISBE emphasised consistent attendance as the positive outcome schools are working toward, which is ensuring students are present, engaged, and connected to learning. Regular attendance remains one of the strongest predictors of academic success and high school graduation.

Each year West40’s student programs play a key role in supporting thousands of students across West Cook County as they improve school attendance and get back on the path to graduation. While ISBE does not factor ALOP and other student support programs from intermediate service centers or regional offices of education in its annual report card, West Cook County school administrators say the programs make a difference.

"We can see very directly because of the impact of our ALOP programs that student attendance numbers are up. We can see that failures are down. We can see that graduation rates are up. All those metrics lead to student success,” said Leyden High School District 212 superintendent Dr. Nick Polyak.

West Leyden High School, for example, increased its four year graduation rate by more than ten percentage points to 91.1% between 2023 and 2025.

“We want to ensure that kids graduate in four years as much as possible. The kids that are here every day are really working to make a difference,” said West Leyden High School principal Dr. Arturo Senteno.

You can learn more about the key findings of this year’s Illinois Report Card at https://www.isbe.net/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1606 and the full Illinois Report Cards are available online at www.illinoisreportcard.com. You can view the overall state metrics or search by school.