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11/3/25 WTPSchools: Are the New Illinois Testing Standards Creating an Illusion of Progress?
Mon, Nov 03
|Cary
Learn about how to help your student's current school testing environment and how to help them succeed in it! Not doing so could cost your student time and money in college.
Time & Location
Nov 03, 2025, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Cary, 800 Feinberg Ct, Cary, IL 60013, USA
About the event
Are the New Illinois Testing Standards Creating an Illusion of Progress?
Description
Join us for our monthly WTPSchools gathering, where we empower parents, educators, and community members with critical insights into local education policies. This November, we're diving deep into the controversy surrounding Illinois' recent changes to standardized testing benchmarks.
In August 2025, the Illinois State Board of Education approved "right-sized" cut scores for proficiency on state assessments like the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), lowering the thresholds for math (from 750 to 732) and reading to better align with national standards and postsecondary expectations. This shift resulted in dramatically higher reported proficiency rates in the 2025 school report cards—53% in reading and 38% in math statewide—marking the first year under these new benchmarks. But is this genuine progress, or just a recalibration that masks ongoing achievement gaps and low performance?
Critics argue these adjustments create an "illusion of progress"…