Both Kingsley Elementary and Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies dropped a designation rating, from the “commendable” category to “targeted,” on the 2025 Illinois Report Card.
The summative designations, released by the Illinois State Board of Education at the end of October, reflect the school’s progress in academic performance and student success. A “commendable” designation is a school with no underperforming student groups and a graduation rate greater than 67%. A “targeted” school is one where one or more student groups perform at or below the level of the “all students” category in the lowest-performing 5% of schools in the state.
With the looming threat of two school closures in the Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Kingsley Elementary is on the chopping block, named in two out of three plans for potential closures. Bessie Rhodes is already slated to close after the 2025-26 school year.
“District 65 remains deeply committed to supporting both the academic and social-emotional growth of our students, preparing them not only for high school, but for college, careers, and lifelong success,” Superintendent Angel Turner wrote in an Oct. 20 statement to the District 65 community. “While we are seeing positive signs of growth, we also recognize the continued need for targeted support and development to help every student reach their full potential.”
In 2025, the district saw a continuation of the overall upward trend in English Language Arts and math proficiency. Compared to 2024, District 65 jumped to about 64% in ELA proficiency from just over 53% the previous year. In mathematics, proficiency levels also increased by over 10%, from 42.4% to 52.6%.
Meanwhile, science proficiency levels saw the opposite trend and decreased by nearly 10%, from 63% to about 53%, mirroring statewide trends which saw a similar dip this year.
For all three subjects, District 65 remains well above state averages. It is nearly 12% higher in ELA, over 14% higher in mathematics and 9% higher in science.
But there remains a significant gap across racial and ethnic groups in all three subjects in the district. About 37% of Black students and about 51% of Hispanic students are proficient in ELA. Seventy-six percent of Asian students and about 81% of white students are proficient in the same subject. There is a similar disparity in mathematics and science.
For other schools in the district, Orrington Elementary School maintained its “exemplary” status from last year, and all others were “commendable.”
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— District 65 explores two school closures after public pushback
— D65 board discusses accountability report, deficit reduction scenarios
— District 65 student proficiency, achievement gaps higher than state averages, report shows
