Illinois approves plan to lower proficiency scores for standardized tests

It will soon be easier for Illinois students to pass state tests.

On Wednesday, the Illinois State Board of Education approved a plan to lower proficiency scores for standardized tests.

The change means a significantly higher number of students will be considered "proficient" in subjects like reading and math.

Currently, a third grader must score 750 out of 850 on the math assessment to be deemed proficient, while the new standard will drop the score to meet that standard to 732, Chalkbeat Chicago reported.

Chalkbeat reported the new cut scores would place 53% of students in the proficient category for English language arts, and 38% for math — up from 41% and 28%, respectively, last year.

But not all the proficiency scores will be lowered. Proficiency cut scores for the Illinois Science Assessment that students take in fifth and eighth grades will be raised from 799 to 812, Chalkbeat reported. The publication reported that 45% of students would be proficient in science under the new proficiency standard, a drop from last year.

State education officials said Illinois students perform above the national average. But the old standards led some students to think they were not ready for college when they were.