Illinois’ Comprehensive Numeracy Plan Is Here. Now Is the Time to Move from Planning to Action.

According to the most recent Illinois State Report Card, just 38.4% of Illinois students are meeting math proficiency standards, compared to 52.4% in English language arts, with even wider gaps for certain student groups. Against that backdrop, the state’s new focus on numeracy gives district and school leaders an important opportunity to take a closer look at how math support is identified, delivered, and sustained across grade levels.

For many administrators, the work ahead is about more than just responding to new guidance. They need to build a practical, scalable approach that helps teachers understand student needs, provide the right support, and monitor progress throughout the year.

As districts evaluate their numeracy plans, a few key questions can help guide the conversation:

Where are students struggling most in math?

A strong numeracy plan starts with reliable data. District and school teams need visibility into student needs by skill, classroom, grade level, and building so they can make informed decisions earlier in the year. Looking at data by student group, including students with disabilities, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students, can help teams see where gaps are concentrated and make sure support reaches the students who need it most.

How are students being supported once gaps are identified?

Data should lead directly to action. Students need targeted instruction and practice that meet them where they are while keeping them moving toward grade-level expectations. Paying close attention to foundational numeracy skills in the elementary grades, things like number sense, place value, and fluency with operations, can make a meaningful difference in how prepared students are for the math they will encounter in later years.

How are current interventions aligned to Illinois expectations?

Effective math support should reinforce classroom instruction and align to Illinois Learning Standards. Districts need a clear way to monitor standards mastery, support IAR and ACT readiness, and adjust instruction before spring assessments. It can also help to think about how interventions fit within the Illinois MTSS framework. When Tier 1 instruction is strong, additional supports tend to be more focused and more effective.

How are schools supporting students who need more intensive help?

Some students need additional support beyond classroom instruction or independent practice. A consistent, structured tutoring model can help extend educator capacity while giving students more focused math support. When evaluating tutoring models, it is worth considering frequency, placement in the school day, and connection to classroom content. Research on high-dosage tutoring points to those three factors as key drivers of student growth.

How are teachers being supported without adding more complexity?

Sustainable numeracy planning requires tools, data, and services that fit within existing district priorities and reduce, not increase, the burden on educators. Embedding professional learning into implementation, rather than layering it on as a separate initiative, helps teachers build confidence with new tools and data without feeling like they are managing two different priorities at once.

How Edmentum Can Help Illinois Districts Move from Planning to Action

As a trusted education partner, Edmentum works alongside Illinois district and school teams to help turn numeracy goals into practical, measurable support for students and teachers.

Identify math gaps earlier

Exact Path helps leaders understand student needs by skill and connect assessment data to instructional next steps. Exact Path diagnostic insights are predictive of IAR performance and ACT scores, giving teams locally validated, earlier visibility into readiness rather than relying on national benchmarks that may not reflect Illinois student performance. Running diagnostics early in the fall, ideally within the first four to six weeks of school, gives teams the time they need to act on what they find before winter benchmarks arrive.

Personalize support after gaps are found

Exact Path connects diagnostic results to individualized learning paths, helping students receive targeted math instruction and practice based on what they are ready to learn next. Exact Path is designed to keep students moving toward grade-level expectations, not just to meet them where they are. That distinction matters for students who have historically been routed into remedial content with limited progress toward grade-level work. ESSA Tier 2 research shows Exact Path can accelerate growth 2–3x compared to the average intervention. Personalized digital practice is most powerful when it works alongside strong teacher-led instruction and thinking about how the two connect from the start can help districts get more out of both.

Support Illinois standards and assessment readiness

Exact Path Proficiency provides Illinois Learning Standards-aligned formative assessments and practice for grades 3–12, helping educators monitor standards mastery and strengthen IAR and ACT readiness throughout the year. Because Exact Path Proficiency is built directly around Illinois Learning Standards rather than adapted from a national framework, educators can trust that instruction and practice reflects what Illinois expects them to know. Starting ACT readiness work in grade 9 gives students more time to build strength in the Algebra and Functions domains that carry significant weight on the exam, which can make a real difference in outcomes by the time they test.

Provide more intensive support when students need it

Edmentum High Impact Tutoring offers live, virtual tutoring with experienced educators through a consistent, structured model. Edmentum’s tutoring efficacy research meets ESSA Tier 1 standards and shows participating students improved their state assessment ranking by about 20 percentile points and were 2.5x more likely to meet expectations. Starting ACT readiness work in grade 9 gives students more time to build strength in the Algebra and Functions domains that carry significant weight on the exam, which can make a real difference in outcomes by the time they test.

Extend educator capacity without adding complexity

Edmentum brings together diagnostics, personalized learning, standards-aligned instruction and practice, tutoring, and consultative partnership to help districts build math support models that are practical to implement and easier to sustain. Edmentum's approach is designed to reduce reporting complexity and fit within existing workflows, so teachers spend less time navigating data and more time using it. Building in coaching and data review cycles as part of implementation helps teachers and instructional coaches grow their own skills alongside the work, so the district is stronger whether or not any particular tool remains in place.

Illinois’ numeracy focus creates a clear moment for districts to review what is working, identify where support is needed, and strengthen the systems that help students grow. Edmentum helps district and school leaders move from planning to action with the data, tools, services, and partnership needed to drive measurable growth in math.

Learn more about partnering with Edmentum to accelerate student achievement.