Diane Rado – Page 6 –

Fifth-graders at Highland Elementary School in Elgin sit at their computers after finishing PARCC testing.

As PARCC testing approaches, ISBE launches inquiry into 2015 participation

May 22, 2019 at 9:28 p.m.

The Illinois State Board of Education has launched an investigation into why so many kids in certain districts skipped state exams last year — which may include questioning parents and...

North Shore District 112 Superintendent Michael Bregy speaks as the board discusses the district's finances at a workshop meeting in Highland Park on Feb. 9, 2016.

North Shore school district’s $198M referendum causing ‘a civil war in Highland Park’

June 11, 2018 at 6:09 a.m.

In the waning days of the state's legislative session last spring, an innocuous bill about kids' teeth was headed toward a vote. But things changed quickly. The wording about school-related...

Questions on a pratice ACT college entrance exam.

Illinois moves ahead with new testing plan, replacing ACT with SAT

June 12, 2018 at 2:31 a.m.

It's official, according to the state: Testing giant ACT is out and the College Board's SAT is in, bringing a new college entrance exam into Illinois public high schools. The...

Fifth-graders at Highland Elementary School in Elgin sit at their computers after finishing one of five sessions of PARCC testing.

Illinois students left out of state exams, labeled ineligible for testing

June 11, 2018 at 7:31 a.m.

DuPage County's Addison Trail High School enrolled nearly 600 freshmen at the start of the 2014-15 school year, but when it came time to give a new state exam in...

How funding for school districts could change (database)

June 11, 2018 at 6:50 a.m.

A proposed change to how Illinois divvies up public school money means that about half of school districts in the Chicago area could lose funding. The possible changes stem from...

Students working with Sara Jirasek, a special education instructor, answer math questions using iPads at North Barrington Elementary School in Barrington on Jan. 13, 2016.

State’s school funding plan spurs concerns over cuts, special education

June 11, 2018 at 7:44 a.m.

Almost half of school districts in Chicago's suburbs would lose money under a dramatic proposal to rejigger how the state divvies up money to public schools, with affluent districts targeted...

Teacher Meghan Rio, standing, talks with student Patrick Broncato during a group discussion for the U.S. history AP class at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn on Nov. 20, 2015.

Thousands of Illinois students can’t pass AP exams, won’t get college credit

June 9, 2018 at 3:38 a.m.

Cicero's J.S. Morton High School District has pushed its mostly low-income students to take tough Advanced Placement courses and exams — just like teens do at elite high schools —...

Illinois has decided to drop the longtime ACT college entrance exam given free to high school juniors and instead give 11th-graders the rival SAT exam.

Illinois shifts gears on college entrance exams, chooses SAT over ACT

June 16, 2018 at 9:19 a.m.

Illinois has decided to drop the longtime ACT college entrance exam given free to high school juniors and instead give 11th-graders the rival SAT exam, a test widely known on...

Fifth-grade students Lily Rubin, from left, Chase Rosenbloom, Juliet Simon, and Drew Spiegel, discuss the presidential debates with their teacher, Heather Chalfin, left, at Walden Elementary School in Deerfield on Dec. 9, 2015.

Students struggle with PARCC test, even at elite schools, results show

June 17, 2018 at 4:26 a.m.

State test scores took a nosedive as students struggled to pass the first PARCC exams last school year, with some of Illinois' most elite schools seeing a sharp drop in...

Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool, center, talks to Tre'Sean Curry, 10, right, and other students in a coding class Dec. 9, 2015, at Robert Lindblom Math & Science Academy in Chicago.

Thousands of Illinois students skipped standardized test last year

June 16, 2018 at 10:18 a.m.

Tens of thousands of Illinois students — the most in recent history — sat out the state's standardized exams during the last school year as resistance to testing gained momentum...

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