Staff Reports
State Rep. Regan Deering is rightly sounding the alarm after national commentator Geno Young said a Hillcrest High School teacher told him students were testing at roughly a fourth‑grade level. The claim touched off a public back‑and‑forth: Griffin‑sized warnings about illiteracy and a Hillcrest statement pointing to big gains. Parents, taxpayers and anyone who cares about real education deserve a clear answer — not word games or smiling press releases.
What was said and why it matters
Geno Young told a national audience that a tenured teacher at Hillcrest relayed the fourth‑grade reading claim to him while he worked there. Young later clarified he does not possess the original assessment and said he was relaying what he was told. Reported Illinois assessment figures tied to the conversation show English language arts proficiency at Hillcrest near 5% in 2022 and roughly 7.2% for 11th‑grade students in 2022–23, compared with about 30% statewide. State Rep. Regan Deering called those kinds of numbers a tragedy — and she’s right. Kids who can’t read at grade level are being robbed of opportunity.
School response and the data tug‑of‑war
Hillcrest pushed back with a formal statement touting dramatic 2025–26 gains: a 99% freshman OnTrack rate, 99% course‑pass rates both semesters, a 91% graduation rate and a 77% drop in major disciplinary incidents. Principal Eric Washington said the progress reflects five years of work and added, “we are happy, but we are not satisfied.” Fine — celebrate the wins. But wins on attendance and course passage don’t erase the need to show the underlying reading and ELA assessment data and the actual student work. If proficiency was as low as reported, show how it rose. If it was never that low, show the report card that proves it.
Accountability, parents and real solutions
Deering is pressuring local leaders to demand answers — and so should every parent and taxpayer. That means showing up at school board meetings, asking for the Illinois Report Card numbers, and demanding the internal assessments behind any sensational claim. It also means returning to basics: phonics for early readers, firm math standards, summer tutoring, focused interventions and yes, higher expectations. Band‑aid programs and feel‑good slogans don’t replace reading skills.
Final thought
This episode is a test of priorities. Will state and local leaders choose transparency and higher standards or will they settle for glossy statistics and happy talk? Students deserve teachers who teach and schools that measure and prove results. If Hillcrest has truly turned things around, show the receipts. If the state has a literacy problem, own it, fix it, and stop graduating young people who can’t read the fine print on their first paycheck.
