Chicago students score lower, fewer graduate, fewer go to college

The graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates in Chicago were below the statewide average in 2022. Reading and math SAT scores were also below the Illinois average. Other large districts in Cook and the collar counties performed better.

The graduation rate in Chicago Public Schools is four percentage points below the statewide average. The difference in the rate of CPS students enrolling in college after graduation is also four percentage points below the statewide average.

Students in Chicago scored on average nearly 23 points lower in reading and 25 points lower in math on the SAT in 2022.

Nearly all other large school districts in Cook and the collar counties outperformed CPS on those metrics. Most of those districts hovered closer to the statewide average.

CPS graduation rate below statewide average

In 2022, 83.2% of Chicago public students graduated within four years. That’s four percentage points below the statewide graduation rate.

But the graduation rate in CPS has increased more since 2019 than the statewide average. The graduation rate in CPS has increased by nearly seven percentage points during the past four years, compared to a 1.1 percentage point increase statewide.

Chicago’s lower rate of postsecondary enrollment

Chicago’s decline in the rate of students enrolling in postsecondary education is similar to the statewide average decline. But CPS already has a smaller percentage of students who enroll in U.S. colleges within 12 or 16 months of graduation compared to the state average.

In 2022, the rate of CPS students enrolling in college within 12 months was about four percentage points lower than the statewide average. Chicago’s rate was 60.1% and the statewide rate 64.3%.

The decrease in postsecondary enrollment rates since 2019 is the same in Chicago as statewide: an 11% drop for each. Chicago’s postsecondary enrollment rate was 67.7% in 2019 and dropped to 60.1% in 2022. The statewide rate was 72.5% in 2019 and 64.3% in 2022, representing an 11% decrease for the city and state.

Chicago students score worse, less proficient on SAT

Chicago students underperformed the state average for SAT scores in 2022. The average reading score for CPS 11th grade students was 463.8 and the average math score was 448.8, nearly 23 points lower than the state average in reading and 25 points lower in math.

Chicago public school students performed worse on the SAT in 2022 compared to before the pandemic. Average SAT scores in CPS were eight points lower in reading and nearly 24 points lower in math in 2022 compared to 2019.

The state gives 11th grade students the SAT to measure the percentage of high schoolers meeting grade-level standards for proficiency. In Chicago in 2022, nearly 80% of 11th graders failed to meet grade level standards in reading and math. Statewide, about 71% of students failed to meet proficiency in reading and 70% in math.

School districts in Cook, collar counties straddle state averages

There are 15 school districts with more than 10,000 students in Cook and the collar counties, including McHenry County’s largest district at 8,590. Eleven of the 15 districts had a higher graduation rate than the statewide average, eight had a higher postsecondary enrollment rate and eight had a higher average SAT reading and math score than the statewide average.

Only one district, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60, had a lower graduation rate than CPS in 2022. Five districts had a lower postsecondary enrollment rate and four districts underperformed CPS’ average reading and math SAT scores.

Of those 15 school districts in Cook and the collar counties, Waukegan had the lowest graduation rate at 74% and Naperville Community Unit School District 203 had the highest graduation rate at 96.9% in 2022.

The district with the lowest postsecondary enrollment rate in 2022 was Aurora East School District 131 at 41.9% for the 12-month rate and the highest was Naperville with 84.3%. The highest-performing district on the SAT was Naperville, with an average reading score of 567.1 and 564.7 in math. Waukegan registered the lowest with a reading score of 418.6 and math score of 402.4.

Naperville was the highest performing in each metric in 2022 among the largest school districts in Cook and the collar counties. Waukegan tallied the lowest performance in two of the three metrics. Districtwide, nearly 70% of Waukegan’s student body is low-income, but just 15% of Naperville’s students classify as low-income.