Report Reveals Illinois Children Face Complex Learning Challenges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 5, 2009

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Melissa Meighen, 312-516-5551


Report Reveals Illinois Children Face Complex Learning Challenges

Illinois Kids Count 2009 examines key data and illuminates key issues

CHICAGO – Educational disparities persist across Illinois, particularly with respect to school resources and student achievements. These contribute to the substantial, complex challenges the state faces in educating the current and next generation of students, according to the Illinois Kids Count 2009 data book released today by Voices for Illinois Children.

This year’s report, “Education for the 21st Century,” highlights three major challenges that state and local policymakers must address as they formulate education policy to prepare all students for the 21st century:


1. The changing composition of student enrollment throughout the state, which means educating increasing numbers of students with limited English proficiency and increasing numbers of students from low-income families;
2. Great inequities in resources, both financial and professional, between property-wealthy and property-poor districts; and

3. Notable disparities in student outcomes, including test scores and graduation rates.

“As a state, we’ve made significant progress in some important areas such as early childhood education,” said Jerry Stermer, president of Voices for Illinois Children. “However, we face considerable challenges to ensure that all students leave school with the knowledge and skills necessary to go to college or to enter the workforce. Educational disparities are widespread in Illinois. In particular, funding disparities between school districts remain a major impediment to the education of all our children. Student success should not depend on a zip code.”



Illinois Kids Count is widely regarded as the most thorough yearly examination of children’s lives in the state. It publishes the best available data to measure the educational, social, economic and physical well-being of Illinois children. The report can be read in its entirety at www.voices4kids.org.
The report presents and analyzes many indicators that relate to student success, including demographics and a range of statistics related to health, early childhood education, test scores and graduation rates, teacher credentials, education funding, and family and community data.

Key Findings

Notable findings within these areas include the following:

Changing composition of student enrollment:
· Latinos have accounted for 80 percent of the growth in public school enrollment over the past two decades.
· There are school districts with high concentrations of low-income students in every region of the state.

Great inequities in resources:
· There are huge investment gaps among school districts, with combined state and local funding of education varying from less than $7,500 per student to more than $20,000 per student.
· The number of children on the waiting list for public preschool programs has grown 60 percent since 2003. Nearly 17,500 children were on the waiting list in 2008.

Notable disparities in student achievement:
· Less than half of all Illinois 8th-grade students were considered “proficient” in math, reading and writing on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
· High school graduation rates are about 93 percent among Whites and Asians, but only about 75 percent among Blacks and Latinos. School districts with the lowest graduation rates (below 75 percent) are located in nearly every region of the state.
· Only 20 percent of Illinois students are considered college-ready, based on the ACT test, which assesses high school students’ ability to complete college-level work.

“We, as a state, must take a broad, comprehensive approach to address these challenges and to ensure that every child has a fair chance at success,” Stermer said. “Effective education investments provide Illinois with a substantial return, including greater future economic growth, a more informed and engaged citizenry and reduced costs in areas such as remedial education, health care and crime.”

Solutions

Kids Count also includes essays by prominent academics and education leaders that assess policies and propose solutions, including:

· Recognizing and investing in supports for the “whole child.” From birth through postsecondary education, the educational continuum must address cognitive, social-emotional, and physical health.
· Supporting families and communities as key partners in children’s educational success. Families and communities should provide safe, nurturing and encouraging environments—from nutritious foods to enriching after-school activities—that help children and teens develop thinking and social skills.
· Advancing a more equitable solution for how Illinois funds education. Fiscal resources alone do not determine the quality of public schools, but educational opportunities in our state are too dependent on the property wealth of local school districts.

“The information in Kids Count issues a compelling challenge: 21st century preparedness calls for an education that starts early and is comprehensive, high-quality and collaborative,” Stermer said. “The data provide a framework and an opportunity to understand and prioritize the issues, because we all have a responsibility to ensure that all children, regardless of their families’ economic situations, are prepared for school, work and life.”

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Voices for Illinois Children champions the full development of every child in Illinois to assure the future well-being of everyone in the state. We work with families, communities and policymakers on all issues to help children grow up healthy, happy, safe, loved, and well educated.