Illinois
Illinois’ NAEP scores are out. How did the state’s fourth and eighth graders do?
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Illinois students who just started school during the COVID pandemic scored lower in reading and math on a test known as the “nation’s report card” compared to Illinois students who took the exam in previous years.
Now in fourth grade, these students would have been kindergarteners when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools and sent classrooms online. For many, first grade was also online or a mix of in-person and virtual learning.
During the pandemic, some parents opted to pull their children from school worrying that there wasn’t a benefit to virtual learning at a young age.
The latest round of test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as NAEP, released on Wednesday shows that Illinois students who missed school or went through the interruptions and struggles of remote learning may still have gaps in their education from that time. However, Illinois eighth grade students — who would have been in fourth grade when the pandemic started — either held steady or outperformed their peers in 2022 in reading and math but their scores lagged behind their peers who took the exam in 2019.
According to the new NAEP data, 38% of Illinois’ fourth graders were proficient in math and 30% were in reading, while 32% of the state’s eighth graders were proficient in math and 33% were in reading.
When compared to other states, Illinois’ fourth grade proficiency rates were comparable to the national average in reading and math, but the state’s eighth graders surpassed the average in both subjects.
State Superintendent Tony Sanders said in a statement that NAEP’s latest results give families, students, and educators a “cause to celebrate.”
“This data is another example, like our state report card and national studies, that Illinois’ students are growing academically,” Sanders said in the statement.
NAEP scores for Chicago Public Schools, Illinois’ largest public school district, show that the district’s eighth graders had significantly higher scores in math and reading scores in 2024 when compared to their peers in 2022. Chicago’s fourth graders had higher math scores than previous groups of students, but lower reading scores.
Twenty one percent of Chicago’s fourth grade students were proficient in math and 23% were in reading. For the district’s eighth graders, 21% were proficient in math and 27% were proficient in reading.
The decline in fourth grade reading scores runs counter to the results of recent state standardized tests. According to a joint study from Stanford and Harvard universities, Chicago students’ reading scores rebounded faster than other districts across the country.
But in a statement, CPS officials focused on the strong performance of eighth grade students.
“This data is consistent with what we have previously seen – that students who remain in our system continue to make learning gains over time,” according to a statement from Chicago Public Schools. “The 8th grade reading score of CPS exceeded the average of large cities and narrowed the gap with the national public average to only 2 points. This marks the closest CPS has ever been to the national public average in 8th grade reading performance.”
The district statement also acknowledged that fourth graders were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic when compared to their older peers. The district said that they have added interventionist positions to support students, instructional coaches to assist educators, and organized tutoring programs.
CPS scores also show disparities between Black and Latino students when compared to white and Asian American peers in reading and math in both grade levels. This has been a trend in NAEP scores over the past decade, predating the pandemic. However, Black and Latino students in eighth grade in 2024 reading and math were comparable to students who took the exam in eighth grade in 2022.
The state’s Illinois Assessment of Readiness from spring 2024 paints a very different picture than NAEP’s 2024 scores. In fact, the IAR — which tests students between third and eighth grade in the spring — found that students’ reading scores were above 2019 scores.
But even on state standardized tests, Illinois and Chicago students’ performance on math tests lagged behind their counterparts’ math scores in pre-pandemic years.
In October, Sanders attributed the growth in IAR reading scores to the changes in how literacy is taught in Illinois schools. Since math scores have yet to grow in the same way as reading scores, Sanders said at the time the state’s report card was released that the board of education was looking into a statewide math and numeracy plan to increase proficiency.
Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.
Name: Eric Godoy
Title: Associate Professor
Unit: Department of Philosophy
Years at Illinois State: 8 1/2 years
Tell us about your teaching and research in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“Renewable energy alone won’t make our energy systems more just. The production, distribution, and consumption of energy are connected to many ethical issues. For example, even renewable energy projects can pollute environments or displace people. My recent research examines these ethical challenges and asks what a just transition might look like. I’ve also published work on climate ethics, trophy hunting lions, urban park design, interdisciplinary research, and dinosaur films. My most popular course is PHI 236: Values and the Environment, but I also teach many topics in moral, social-political, and environmental philosophy. I’m also a proud affiliate of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program (WGSS).”
What are your proudest accomplishments during your time at Illinois State?
“I was awarded an American Council of Learned Societies’ fellowship for my work on energy democracy this year. I was nominated by our university for a Carnegie Fellowship in 2024. I was also very honored to receive a College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Excellence Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2021. But I’m always the proudest when I hear about the success of my former students. I love getting emails about their new careers or their graduate studies in all kinds of fields: law, environmental work, and, of course, philosophy.”
What’s your favorite thing about Illinois State or the College of Arts and Sciences?
“I do my best research in conversation with students and colleagues in different fields. Our students and faculty are so talented. They’re often working on amazing projects. I learn so much from them. They encourage me to explore new research questions I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Environmental problems are inherently interdisciplinary. I’m very grateful that CAS supports interdisciplinary work and programs, such as WGSS, Environmental Systems Science and Sustainability, and Civic Engagement. Philosophy lends itself so well to interdisciplinary relationships since there are philosophical questions at the heart of every field.”
Department of Philosophy Chair Christopher Horvath on Godoy:
“Dr. Eric Godoy is an innovative, student‑centered educator whose inclusive and interdisciplinary pedagogy consistently elevates the department’s instructional standards. He is deeply committed to creating learning environments that empower students from diverse backgrounds to engage meaningfully with complex philosophical issues. His leadership in curriculum development has made him one of the department’s most forward‑thinking educators. Complementing his teaching excellence, his research provides practical, ethically grounded solutions to energy‑policy conflicts and will shape national conversations about democratic participation in a just transition away from fossil fuels.”
Read more stories from the College of Arts and Sciences at News.IllinoisState.edu/Unit/College-Arts-Sciences and follow the college on Facebook and Instagram.
Murals and memorials of César Chavez are continuing to come down across Chicago after allegations emerged last week that the Latino civil rights activist groomed and sexually assaulted girls and women.
The allegations were revealed in a New York Times investigation published March 18.
Some artworks are being repainted with murals of Dolores Huerta, the longtime ally of Chavez in the labor rights movement. Huerta, 95, told the New York Times that Chavez had sexually assaulted her.
The Illinois Senate adopted a resolution Wednesday honoring Huerta and declaring April 10 as “Dolores Huerta Day” in Illinois.
“In recent months, Dolores Huerta has shown profound resilience and courage in sharing her own experience of harm, doing so in order to uplift the stories of countless women whose voices were overlooked or silenced,” the resolution states.
One of the resolution’s sponsors, State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, said she is also working on a plan to rescind César Chavez Day, which is next week on March 31st.
At Cafe Tola in Lake View, a Chavez mural outside the restaurant’s building was replaced this week with a painting of Huerta, who coined the phrase, “Sí, se puede,” which loosely translates to, “Yes, we can.”
“We are deeply saddened by this news, yet we stand in unwavering support and admiration for Dolores Huerta and every woman who has found the courage to come forward,” Cafe Tola said in a social media post. “This moment is powerful — proof that truth cannot be silenced and that it is never too late to reclaim your voice. We honor that strength.”
A plaque dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the death of César Chavez, honoring him and Sister Dolores Huerta, before it was taped over at the Haymarket Memorial in the West Loop.
In the West Loop, a plaque honoring Chavez’s labor rights movement has been covered with black tape at the Haymarket Memorial. According to the Chicago Federation of Labor, the organization is planning to fully remove it.
“We will be discussing with all our partners on how to best honor both the survivors of Cesar Chavez’s horrific abuse and the workers that were betrayed by Chavez,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Federation of Labor said in a statement.
Black tape covers up a plaque (left) that commemorates the 30th anniversary of César Chavez’s death on the base of the Haymarket Memorial in the West Loop, Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Last week, Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said the allegations that Chavez sexually assaulted children, women, workers and labor organizers “is a betrayal to our movement.”
Chavez, who died in 1993, has long been revered in Chicago’s Latino community. In addition to numerous murals of him across the city, a public elementary school in Back of the Yards and a post office in Pilsen are both named after him.
The school, César E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center, has initiated the process that could lead to a new name. It is receiving community feedback about a possible new name, according to Chicago Public Schools officials. Any recommendation would need approval from the Local School Council and the school board.
Another school in Pilsen, Peter Cooper Dual Language Academy, has a mosaic of Chavez and Huerta side by side. It’s unclear if the school plans to remove the mosaic of Chavez.
The Sun-Times was the first to report that Chavez’s face had been painted over last week on the “Libertad” mural across a long wall at Barrett Park in Pilsen.
A splotch of green paint initially covered the portion where Chavez was depicted, but Park District officials have since painted over that with a continuation of the mural’s background design, a Park District spokesperson said.
Other historical figures on the mural, including Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. remain visible on the wall.
Paint covers Cesar Chavez’s face on a mural depicting civil rights figures that can be seen an exterior wall of Barrett Park in the Pilsen neighborhood, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Time
“The Chicago Park District takes recent allegations of misconduct by Cesar Chavez seriously … and are conducting a district-wide review of any other park features that may honor him,” a Park District spokesperson said previously. “Where appropriate, we will take further action consistent with our values and standards.”
The Park District has not identified any other murals or memorials of Chavez on any of its properties, the spokesperson said Wednesday.
Contributing: Isabela Nieto
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