When schools shifted to remote learning in March 2020, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made the unprecedented decision to let states cancel standardized testing. Every state, including Illinois, did so, but that allowance did not extend to 2021. With a second round of pandemic-era standardized tests beginning this spring, we considered the current state assessment landscape in Illinois and how it may need to change going forward with an Illinois state senator and leaders from education groups.

Illinois lawmakers are considering a variety of bills that would change the requirements to earn a teaching certificate.

How many standardized test do you remember taking when you were in school?  Your answer probably depends on whether you finished school before 2002 when No Child Left Behind took effect.  Illinois Public Radio's Dusty Rhodes discusses NCLB's replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act, with Illinois Education Association President Cinda Klickna.

The Illinois State Board of Education had to vote on what constitutes an acceptable grade on the PARCC test. 

World-renowned educator Sir Ken Robinson says education should be about helping children and young people understand the talents that lie within them, and about helping them become fulfilled individuals and compassionate productive citizens. He says this can be achieved if education becomes more personalized rather than standardized.