The Illinois State Board of Education released its 2024 Illinois Report Card Wednesday, highlighting Evanston/Skokie School District 65 students’ increasing academic proficiency yet wide achievement gaps.

The annual report card collects data from every public school district in Illinois to measure student and school performance. The data is compared to state and local standards that guide school districts’ future goals. 

District 65 students have higher proficiency levels in English Language Arts, math and science compared to state averages. Out of these subject areas, the district had the largest increase in ELA proficiency from last year, increasing by 8.2%. The entire state’s proficiency in ELA increased by just 4.8%.

However, the district’s achievement gaps are wider than the state level, with white students performing 44% better than Black students and 33% better than Hispanic students in ELA. On the state level, these gaps are 30% and 24%, respectively. Hispanic students perform better than Black students in ELA by a margin of 11% in District 65 and 7% across the state. 

The same is true for math, with white students performing 50% better than Black students and 36% better than Hispanic students. Statewide, white students perform 30% better than Black students and 23% better than Hispanic students in math. Hispanic students perform 14% better than Black students at the district level and 7% on the state level.

English Language Learners make up 16.6% of the District 65 student body, an increase from 15.2% in 2022. Statewide, 16.4% of students are English Language Learners.

Seventeen percent of students have Individualized Education Programs, which is higher than the statewide level of 16%.

The district teacher retention level is 87.4%, lower than the state average of 89.6%. 

All but one of District 65’s schools received a “commendable” summative designation, with Orrington Elementary School being the only school to receive an “exemplary” designation. 

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— Teacher shortages, “mismanagement” plague Bessie Rhodes, parents say 

— District 65 Board of Education passes FY25 budget with $13 million deficit, sets cost-reduction plan 

— Illinois Report Card shows signs of rebound, performance gaps