By Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois is changing how it grades schools.

Starting in the fall of 2018, Illinois schools will get as much credit for how their students ‘grow’ in reading, math, and science as they will for how much their students actually know about the subjects. Jeanne Allen, CEO at the Center for Education Reform, said it is important to track how much students are improving, but she said it’s more important to make sure students are learning what they need to know. Allen said that’s not happening in Illinois.

Over half the kids in Illinois currently can’t read or write at grade level. Allen said measuring growth – that students are doing less poorly – isn’t the same as performing well overall.

“Is it unreasonable to expect a third grader to be reading at the third grade level in third grade? No,” Allen said. “And what happens when that doesn’t happen?”

The Illinois State Board of Education says the point of grading schools is to help them, not punish them. ISBE spokeswoman Jackie Matthews said the state board wants to look “beyond just academic attainment.” The State Board said it made the decision to increase the importance of school growth based on feedback from local schools and teachers. Allen fears Illinois may end up wasting its opportunity to improve schools by using the new school grading system as an excuse to continue the status quo.

“The question that leadership should ask itself is, ‘How are we going to transform schools for kids?'” Allen said.

Allen said the same federal program that’s requiring Illinois to change how it grades schools, the Every Student Succeeds Act, gives state incentives to try new things in education.