The state school superintendent has reason to brag a little. Tony Sanders says a Harvard – Stanford study says Illinois is one of just three states making a full post-pandemic recovery in English and language arts. He is not surprised.

“We actually have the best students in the nation. We really do,” said Sanders. “All the national reports indicate that Illinois is ahead of other states in our public education system. You look at the U.S. News and World Report report from last year that showed that we were ranked in the top ten in the nation for public education, K-12, you look at this report that Illinois continues to make gains.

“Illinois is a great place to raise a child.”

Math, though, has some room for improvement.

And the other two states standing with Illinois? Louisiana and Mississippi.