Across the country, most jobs now require education or training beyond high school, with research estimating that close to three-quarters of jobs will require postsecondary education by 2031.
Illinois rightly recognizes this reality. The state has set goals for postsecondary attainment and taken executive action aimed at increasing the number of Illinoisans with a postsecondary credential. However, as Illinois redesigns its K-12 accountability system with several meaningful improvements, the proposed removal of a critical measure for assessing whether schools are preparing our students for the future is troubling.
With the Illinois State Board of Education expected to vote on the proposed accountability system Wednesday, there is a critical opportunity to ensure that preparing students for success beyond high school remains a core part of how we define school achievement.
State accountability systems, which are established under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, do more than report information about how schools are performing. They shape school priorities, informing decision-making around, for example, whether schools continue to expand access to opportunities such as early college credit, advanced coursework, work-based learning and industry-recognized credentials. If postsecondary readiness is not part of accountability, it becomes easier for it to fall outside schools’ core line of sight. The proposed removal in Illinois of the College and Career Readiness Indicator, or CCRI, weakens the signal that high schools should be assessed on how well they prepare students for success after graduation.
A strong school accountability system recognizes multiple ways students demonstrate postsecondary readiness. Graduation rates, test scores and other indicators matter, but on their own, individual measures do not fully answer the question families and policymakers care about most: Are students leaving high school with a clear and viable pathway into college, credential programs or the workforce?
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The state’s proposed accountability redesign removes CCRI from the system, a shift that would move Illinois in the wrong direction. Around 40 states include some form of postsecondary readiness indicator in their accountability systems. The variation across states shows that there is flexibility in design — but not disagreement about whether readiness belongs in accountability.
Certainly, there are valid concerns about how Illinois’ previous CCRI was designed. It did not align well with the requirements for a state-selected indicator: Be valid and reliable, collected statewide, and able to meaningfully differentiate school performance. Illinois’ previous indicator required students to demonstrate readiness in both college and career domains simultaneously; it was overly complex, in other words, and less useful than it should have been. But a flawed design is a reason to revamp the measure — not remove it altogether.
The good news is that alternatives exist that rely on data Illinois already collects. A simpler Delaware-style “menu of options” model would let students demonstrate readiness through pathways such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate performance, dual enrollment success or work-based learning. These are not abstract measures; students who earn college credit in high school are more likely to complete a postsecondary degree, and performance on AP exams is more closely associated with positive postsecondary outcomes than course-taking alone. High-quality work-based learning and career pathways provide students with real-world experience and skills valued by employers.
This model shows how a state can recognize multiple pathways while keeping the system simple: Students could meet a college benchmark, a career benchmark or both. Schools would get credit for preparing students through different routes, while the state would avoid the unnecessary complexity that undermined the earlier indicator.
Ultimately, Illinois families want and deserve to know how well their students are prepared for success beyond high school. Illinois should commit now to a clear and speedy timeline and process for developing and adopting a revised CCRI. That commitment should include stakeholder engagement, a validation plan and a target date for bringing a simpler readiness measure back into accountability.
Amid a rapidly changing workforce landscape that will shape the way schools prepare students for the future, Illinois cannot afford to omit a robust approach to measuring postsecondary readiness.
Let’s make clear that postsecondary readiness remains a priority and measure what matters.
Jessica Handy is executive director for Stand for Children Illinois. Josh Kaufmann is executive director for Teach Plus Illinois. Hal Woods is the chief of policy for Kids First Chicago.
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