Posted on 04/22/2025 6:37:52 PM PDT by george76
Illinois Republican state Rep. Dan Ugaste is speaking out against a “nationwide literacy crisis” that counts Illinois among the more than 40 states where just one out of every three fourth grade students are now meeting reading proficiency standards.
Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress report card shows that in Illinois, just 30% of fourth graders are hitting such standards. In a 2024 national exam, the state's students finished 29th in the country for the percentage of fourth graders at or above proficiency.
“This is a huge problem across the country, but it's a real problem here in Illinois,” Ugaste told The Center Square. "It's my understanding that our 8th graders are doing a bit better. It speaks to the amount of damage that was done when the schools closed during the pandemic. That's when these children would have first been in school and first learning how to read, write and do math.”
With researchers identifying third and fourth grades as being a critical period in a student’s overall academic development, school system critics like Ugaste argue that now more than ever, parents should be allowed to make use of school choice to send their children to the best school for them. Researchers stress such assessments can be early predictors for critical milestones such as future employment and overall earning potential.
Ugaste is urging parents to take immediate action.
“First and foremost, you got to do what you can to help your own kids,” he said. “Start reaching out to your legislators; start reaching out to your school boards, get involved in what's happening in your schools, what they're teaching them, how much time they're spending on things like reading and math versus other subjects. We have to be involved in our kids' education; we have to be involved in our government; we have to be involved in our communities.”
Ugaste said he’d also like to see parents demanding lawmakers in Springfield repeal some of the mandates they’ve enacted, giving local school boards and parents greater control over curriculum.
“Let the communities, the parents and the educators locally decide how much time should be spent on subjects and things of that nature,” he said. “We're trying to dictate from Springfield what they should be learning, how much recess time they should have, and all these other issues. We just need to get out of that arena.”
The legislature allowed the state's only school choice program, Invest in Kids, to expire in 2023. Invest in Kinds was a scholarship program that allowed lower-income families to use tax-credited donations to pay for private schools.
Lardass Gov. JB Pritzker might should focus on that a little more than he does trans issues.
They’re too busy indoctrinating kids to actually teach them something...
Ugaste is rightfully aghast.
They’re just showing off. In Baltimore, it’s 13% for the same group.
30%...thats better than Chicago/Cook County.
70% fail rate for the Dept of Ed and Illinois?
Doing children no good.
Teacher holding donkey picture: “And who knows what this means and the letter D?”
Kids (happily, in unison): Democrat. Democrat. Like mommy and her boyfriend always vote.
At all.
And all that unholy indoctrination will not help them with their life skills one bit.
Exactly.
Sad.
A 60 Minutes type show on Chicago urban poverty had a teenager asked what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“I just want to get my own welfare account as soon as I’m old enough. Off my mother’s. That’s all I want. I will be free of my mother bossing me around all the time.”
Kids with poor educations can look forward to that life.
In Hollywood, screenplays with dialogue too complex for a fourth grader to understand have little chance of selling.
That is,
In Hollywood, if the words in a movie script are too hard for a fourth grader to understand, it’s not likely to be sold.
True they can’t read, don’t know how to think, will become horrible citizens but they damn well know their sexual kink pronouns...
I remember New Math that started the trend to dumb down the kid. Common Core accelerated it.
They only know how to communicate with emojis!
Obviously, more “investment” is needed….</s>
What a state embarrassment & the cruelty on a child’s mind!
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