McHenry Times

In a recent Facebook post, state Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) shared a link to a Wirepoints report that said no student could read or write at grade level in at least 30 schools across the state of Illinois.

"The absolute failure to teach even a single child to read and do math in so many schools is yet another indictment of the state’s educational system," the report said.

Ugaste's post further emphasized the severity of the situation.

"At 622 schools across Illinois, only 1 out of 10 kids or less can read at grade level," he said. "The numbers for math are even more shocking with 930 schools reporting 1 out of 10 kids or less able to do math at grade level."

Despite the low grade levels, there are organizations that believe the schools are deserving of praise.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) noted that many of the schools on the list were rated “commendable,” which is the second-highest of four “accountability” ratings a school can receive from the board.

Critics of the system argued that the shortcomings are not about funding, pointing to data from the ISBE that showed per-student spending at Spry Elementary, one of the schools where students are fairing poorly, is now at $35,600, which is significantly up from the $20,000-per-student range it was before the pandemic.