Student absences rose, test scores dropped during pandemic, new Illinois report card shows

Results of the 2021 Illinois Report Card — which looked at the impact of the pandemic on education — were released Friday. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The report released Friday reflects reflects the significant impact of remote learning and the pandemic on student enrollment, attendance and academic achievement.

Illinois schools saw higher rates of chronic absenteeism and lower test scores during the 2020-21 school year, though graduation rates remained steady, according to the state’s latest school report card.

The data, made public Friday, shows the significant impact of the pandemic on student enrollment, attendance and academic achievement.

One in five Illinois students was chronically absent last year, missing 10 percent or more of the school year, with or without a valid excuse — a 21% increase from the 2018-19 school year.

Illinois public schools also experienced a dip in enrollment, with nearly 70,000 fewer students enrolled statewide. In Chicago, the school system lost 11,000 students this year. The 2.5% enrollment decline in Illinois is on par with enrollment declines in other states. Prior enrollment trends predicted a 1.1 decrease in a typical year, but COVID-19 created a far from typical learning environment, officials said.

“We have witnessed both tragedy and heroism in our schools over the past year,” State Supt. Carmen Ayala said. “Students and educators have lost so much and lived and learned through unthinkable obstacles, but loss is not the whole story.”

Four-year high school graduation rates remained on track with previous years, and more students took college and career preparation coursework.

The data does show larger decreases in academic achievement among middle-school students. The rate of ninth-grade students on track to graduate dropped by about 5 percent from 2018-19 to 2020-21, which reflects increases in failing grades.

Preliminary spring testing data from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness also shows far fewer students met grade-level standards in English language arts and math, with greater losses among English-language learners. About 16.6 percent fewer students met grade-level standards in English language arts in 2020-21 than in 2018-19, and about 17.8 percent fewer students met grade-level standards in math. The preliminarily data was collected from assessments delivered to about 90% of districts.

The state has received more than $7 billion in federal funding for schools to address the impact of the pandemic on schools, and help districts with academic and social-emotional needs.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement that his administration has been “working hand in-hand with school administrators across the state to ensure the $7 billion dedicated to renewing K-12 learning for Illinois students properly addresses this long period of disruption and devastation.”

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