More students at area high schools were classified as proficient in English and math this year on the Illinois School Report Card issued by the Illinois State Board of Education. But that wasn’t necessarily because students scored better on state mandated tests. Rather, ISBE lowered proficiency benchmarks in English Language Arts and math while raising them in science and also switched to the ACT exam from the SAT exam as the test required of juniors in public high schools.

State school superintendent Tony Sanders said that the change was made because the previous proficiency benchmarks were among the highest in the nation and resulted in many high performing students being labeled as not proficient.

“This shift did not lower our standards,” Sanders said during a conference call with rep

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