Chronic absenteeism is still on the rise at East Aurora School District 131, but so is its graduation rate, according to its 2025 Illinois Report Card.
The annual report from the Illinois State Board of Education offers a comprehensive analysis of academic, demographic and financial data for every school and district in the state.
Mirroring statewide trends, East Aurora continues to struggle with chronic absenteeism, but saw its graduation rate tick up once again. The district also saw some schools’ designations shift in the state’s tiered system, which is based on metrics like test scores and graduation rates.
Here are some of the key data points for the district from the 2025 Illinois Report Card.
East Aurora’s total enrollment has been steadily going downward in recent years, though the most recent batch of data from the Illinois State Board of Education indicates a less sharp decline than in previous years. This year’s numbers put the district at just over 12,000 students, down from more than 14,000 in 2019.
The district’s own enrollment data, for comparison, puts that figure even a bit lower, based on numbers from October.
The figures from ISBE also show attendance rates declining slightly in District 131, for an average of just over 88% for 2025. That’s lower than the state average of a little under 92%.
Chronic absenteeism continues to be an issue for the district, mirroring a statewide trend. According to its 2025 data, more than 30% of district students missed 10% or more of school days with or without a valid excuse, a figure that has ticked upwards in recent years.
Attendance is an “area of focus” for the district, according to Associate Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessments Ami Engel. She said in a statement to The Beacon-News that, though some schools made a targeted effort to address absenteeism and saw a positive impact, the district is “reaching out to students and families to address any barriers they may have in coming to school.”
Four-year high school graduation rates, however, have been on the rise for the district, topping 90% on this year’s report card and again outpacing the state average.
The district saw some changes in individual schools’ summative designations — a five-tiered metric from the state Board of Education that assesses a school’s performance and, if it is designated as being in one of the lower three tiers, requires it to begin a four-year cycle of school improvement.
This year, one district school — Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy — received the highest designation of “exemplary.” Exemplary schools are those with overall performance in the top 10% in the state, with commendable the next highest rating, according to ISBE. In the East Aurora district, 10 schools were deemed commendable.
Seven district schools were designated as in need of targeted support this year, according to the report card figures.
But none were deemed “comprehensive,” which refers to schools in the lowest-performing 5% of schools in Illinois and any high school with a graduation rate of 67% or less. The year prior, two district schools had been designated as in need of comprehensive support, Engel said at a recent meeting of the district’s school board.
As for academic achievement, East Aurora’s rates of proficiency in English Language Arts, or ELA, math and science fell well below the state averages, the data from the Illinois State Board of Education shows.
The state’s benchmarks for proficiency have changed, however, meaning proficiency rates can’t be compared with previous years.
And students’ growth percentiles — which show their improvement compared with their peers — indicate that East Aurora students are improving slightly below the state average in ELA and math.
The district’s ACT scores also fall below state averages, and are slightly lower than the last time the ACT was recorded for the district, in 2017.
East Aurora’s average score on the ACT was 14.1 for ELA, 15.2 for math and 16 for science, according to this year’s Illinois Report Card data.
On the district’s ACT scores, Engel highlighted that this was the first year in many years that Illinois provided the ACT to students. She said the district provides the fall pre-ACT to students in advance of spring testing, and have incorporated practice for the assessment into their courses.
However, the district has been seeing gains in the number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement, or AP, coursework in recent years. Around 36% of students were enrolled in AP coursework, per the latest report card numbers, more than 10 percentage points higher than the state average.
Asked about the district’s AP enrollment, Engel said the district “strive(s) to provide a variety of programs” for students, and that “student choice is an important part” of supporting students “to be ready for whatever future they want.”
The district’s full Illinois Report Card for 2025 can be found at: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
