Illinois' four-year high school graduation rate reached a record high of 89.8% in 2026, according to the 2026 Illinois Report Card released by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

The state board said graduation rates, academic proficiency, attendance and the teacher workforce all showed gains in the annual report, which covers the 2025-26 school year.

"The 2026 Illinois Report Card shows that Illinois students are making meaningful progress across the measures that matter most," State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders said. "We're seeing more students meeting grade-level expectations, graduating from high school on time, attending school consistently, and taking advantage of opportunities that prepare them for college and careers."

Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that "Illinois is reaching record highs in graduation rates, improving proficiency across subjects, and unleashing the potential of every Illinois student."

Graduation rates reach record high

Since 2012, the state's graduation rate has risen more than nine percentage points and has surpassed Illinois' Every Student Succeeds Act target of 88.9% — a milestone reached four years ahead of schedule, the board said. English learners posted some of the largest gains, up 6.2 percentage points since 2022. Black students, Hispanic students and students identifying with two or more races also showed strong improvements.

Academic gains across subjects

Statewide proficiency increased in all three tested subjects in 2026:

  • English language arts rose from 52.4% to 55.4%
  • Math rose from 38.4% to 39.2%
  • Science rose from 44.6% to 48.7%

In ELA, Black students improved from 31.1% to 34.1%. Students in grades 6-8 led literacy improvement statewide, with eighth graders increasing proficiency from 56.3% to 62.5%, the largest year-over-year gain among tested grades.

In math, ninth graders posted the largest increase, rising from 37.7% to 41.7%. The board said it recently released its first statewide Numeracy Plan to strengthen math instruction.

Science showed some of the strongest gains, with improvement across every student group measured. Black students rose from 20.4% to 25.4%, low-income students from 27.7% to 32.1%, and English learners from 12.2% to 16.8%. The board noted that new proficiency benchmarks adopted in 2025 make the comparison an apples-to-apples one.

Attendance improves

Chronic absenteeism declined for the fourth straight year, falling from 29.8% in 2022 to 23.5% in 2026, a 21.1% improvement, the board said.

Teacher workforce grows

Illinois schools now employ nearly 140,000 teachers, having added more than 12,000 statewide since 2019 while reducing unfilled positions, according to the board. The number of Asian educators rose 11%, Hispanic educators 6% and Black educators 5.2% in 2026. Meanwhile, student enrollment continued a long-term decline, falling 1.6% from the previous year, a trend the board linked to declining birth rates.

College and career readiness

More than 326,000 students participated in enriched or honors coursework in 2026, nearly 160,000 enrolled in Advanced Placement courses and more than 117,000 took part in dual credit programs, the board said. More than 290,000 students participated in Career and Technical Education programs, and over 163,000 completed career pathways as concentrators — up more than 17% since 2024.

New accountability system

The 2026 Report Card introduces a redesigned accountability framework called Profiles of Performance. Under the new system, 28.3% of schools met Exemplary criteria, compared with about 10% under the previous system. The redesign replaces the former broad Commendable category, which had included 73.4% of schools, with multiple performance levels. Schools are evaluated against defined criteria rather than ranked against one another.

Background

According to ISBE's website, the Illinois Report Card is the state's annual informational snapshot of public schools, offering families, educators and communities state-, district- and school-level data on academic performance, school environment, educators and students.

Interactive data and school, district and statewide Report Card information are available at IllinoisReportCard.com. Additional resources, including statewide trend data and downloadable datasets, are available at ISBE's Report Card webpage, isbe.net/reportcard.

Source: the original release