(Pexels)

Illinois is moving away from the PARCC assessment, but students might not notice much of a difference when the Illinois Board of Education rolls out its new federally mandated exam this spring.

On top of announcing its 2017 PARCC results, the Illinois State Board of Education says it plans to stick with the exam that critics have called confusing and unreliable.

(Chicago Tonight)

Students, teachers and community members gathered outside a Little Village elementary school Tuesday to call for the reinstatement of an outspoken Chicago Public Schools teacher who faces termination.

As high school juniors across Illinois prepare to take the SAT exam next April, a local tutoring group is helping school leaders prepare for a shift away from the maligned Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test.

The 2016 PARCC assessment showed Illinois students in grades 3-12 improved slightly in math over a year ago, but fell behind in English language arts. (Pexels)

Math scores up, English scores down over 2015 results

State superintendent says there is "considerable distance to travel" to make sure students are prepared for life after high school following new PARCC assessment results.

As schools across the state begin to administer the controversial PARCC test to students, parents and legislators are pushing a movement and legislation to allow parents to let their children opt out of the test.

State lawmakers want to make it easier for students to skip the PARCC test by introducing a new bill to opt out of standardized testing.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett announced this morning that the district will, in fact, administer the PARCC test to all required grades, rather than 10 percent of schools as previously planned. We have the details.

In recent weeks, the Chicago Board of Education has received letters from both the state Board of Education and the U.S. Department of Education threatening the loss of more than $1 billion if Chicago Public Schools fails to administer the controversial standardized test, PARCC. Wednesday's meeting is the Board's first since those communications from the state and federal governments. Find out what, if any, action they take. We also have reaction to the referendum on an elected school board, and information on what actions the school board is considering to save $10 million.

The federal government is warning Chicago Public Schools against sanctions for its decision to administer the controversial PARCC test to 10 percent of students.

Teachers, parents, and administrators have been debating whether schools should start implementing the PARCC standardized test, designed to align with the new Common Core standards. We talk with two educators about whether it's time to put the PARCC in place and the value of standardized testing.