1942
With over 12,000 districts, Illinois has more public school districts than any other state. Over 10,000 one-room schools have an average enrollment of 12 students.
1945 Illinois citizens vote to reduce the number of school districts from 12,000 to 2,000.
1947 The Common Unit Law goes into effect and accelerates school consolidations.
1950 - 1959
1950 There are 4,480 school districts in Illinois.
1955 The number of school districts is reduced to 2,242.
1958 Responding in part to scientific advances in the Soviet Union, the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) serves to improve math, science and foreign language instruction.
1960 - 1969
1963 The population of Illinois is over 10 million and there are 1,430 school districts in the state.
1966 The number of school districts is reduced to 1,340.
Congress passes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which is designed to assure equality in education throughout the country. 1967 Illinois creates a state mandate for bilingual education. It provides resources for schools with
1970 - 1979
1970 Article X of the new state constitution creates the State Board of Education. A 17 member board replaces the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction.
1980 - 1989
1983 Illinois acknowledges the 100th anniversary of compulsory education.
1984 “Statements of Student Learning Outcomes” are developed – which lead to the Illinois Learning Standards.
1985 The General Assembly passes the Education Reform Act which leads to numerous
educational changes. Illinois adopts 34 “State Goals for Learning”.
1986 The first Illinois School Report Cards were distributed to parents and citizens.
1988 The Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) began to assessment student achievement.
1990 - 1999
1997 The Illinois Learning Standards are adopted. The assessment for students with limited English proficient – IMAGE – is first administered. Illinois reduces the number of State Board members from 17 to 9.
1999 The IGAP assessment program was replaced by the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).
2000 - 2004
2000 The number of school districts is reduced to 894
2004 - 2011
2011 The number of school districts is 868. Governor Pat Quinn proposes consolidating to no more than 300 districts.
