Illinois Releases Updated School Report Card Ratings
Parents can now check new performance tiers for schools in Evanston and Skokie under updated state guidelines.
Updated on Oct. 29, 2026 in Secondary Education
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The Illinois State Board of Education has released its 2025-26 school report card ratings, debuting a new system that features five performance categories instead of four. Families in Evanston/Skokie School District 65 can now view updated ratings for their local schools based on these revised state guidelines.
Why it matters
The shift to five categories and adjusted proficiency cutoffs changes how parents interpret school quality and academic progress. These updates are intended to provide a more nuanced look at school performance by focusing on student outcomes and school experience rather than relative ranking.
The state has expanded its rating system to five tiers and updated its proficiency scoring for grades 3 through 8. For instance, Dawes Elementary reported 33.1% of students not meeting English proficiency and 48.1% not meeting math standards.
The players
Illinois State Board of Education
The state agency responsible for overseeing public education and implementing academic standards in Illinois.
Evanston/Skokie School District 65
A public school district serving families in Evanston and Skokie with a variety of elementary and middle school programs.
The details
Under the new system, schools are evaluated against fixed criteria rather than being ranked against one another on a curve. The updated methodology now prioritizes student engagement, progress, and overall school experience while excluding chronic absenteeism from the final rating calculation. By splitting the former commendable designation into two separate categories, the state aims to provide more clarity on where individual schools fall on the performance spectrum.
Timeline
April 2025: Illinois State Board of Education approved new school evaluation guidelines.
2024-25 school year: 73% of schools received a commendable rating.
2025: State board lowered proficiency cutoff scores for student assessments.
2025-26: Official release of the Illinois Report Card ratings.
The Home Front
These rating updates reflect a broader shift in state-level school oversight as districts move away from competitive curves toward fixed proficiency goals. This transition aligns with efforts to stabilize academic reporting following the implementation of the new Illinois Assessment of Readiness benchmarks.
Families should visit the official state website to review the specific performance tier assigned to their children's schools. Use this report card as a starting point to discuss academic progress and available student resources with your local school administrators.
The takeaway
The new five-tier system aims to offer parents a clearer picture of school performance by removing absenteeism as a penalty factor. Families can log in to the state portal to see how these updated proficiency standards influence the rating of their specific elementary or middle school.
Further reading
For more information on how local districts are adapting to state standards, visit Secondary Education.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Evanston RoundTable.
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