Illinois is losing its status as a leader in early childhood education as the state’s dire financial condition has cut into public preschool funding. Barely one-third of fourth and eighth graders meet proficiency standards in reading and math.

Fewer than one-third of high school graduates meet established benchmarks for college preparedness on the ACT exam.

Those are among the findings of the new, biennial report “The State We’re In 2014: A Report Card on Public Education in Illinois” from the education reform group Advance Illinois.

While the report does note some improvements since the 2012 study, its overall theme warns that the state’s financial troubles portend continued bad news for education from preschool through college for Illinois students. From the report’s executive summary:

Our numbers tell a complex story. Illinois is making headway in helping more students achieve at high levels and graduate from high school. On many measures of our “ladder to college success”—the critical milestones along a student’s journey to college—Illinois has made progress. That’s good news. But dwindling public resources are threatening that progress.

From 2004 to 2014, Illinois’ investment in education fell 10 percent. The decline was especially precipitous over the last five years, when school funding fell 17 percent.

“The State We’re In” report card gives Illinois’ early education a grade of “incomplete,” ranking it 15th in the nation in a category for which Illinois in 2007 was a national leader. K-12 schools get a grade of C-, the same as in 2012, and the state’s post-secondary education fell from a C+ in 2012 to a C in the new report.

This graphic provides a summary of some of the major findings in the 2014 report. A similar graphic for the 2012 report is here.

Illinois schools

NEXT ARTICLE Frerichs gracious in first press conference after being declared winner in state treasurer’s race