Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com
Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com
The number of students who failed their ELA assessment in Coles County rose by 7.8% compared to the previous school year.
In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 95.7% of students failing to meet test requirements.
At the other end of the spectrum, Woodford County had the highest success rate across the state, with 59.4% of its students passing the ELA portion of the IAR.
The IAR measures how well students in grades 3-8 are progressing in meeting the English Language Arts and Mathematics standards set by the state.
According to recent IAR data, the average ELA proficiency rate for Illinois students was 35.4% in 2023, while the math proficiency rate stood at 27.1%. However, data also indicates a significant achievement gap based on race and ethnicity.
White students demonstrated higher proficiency rates in both ELA and math compared to Black and Hispanic students. The ELA proficiency rate for white students was 45.6%, around twice higher than that of Black students (17%) and Hispanic students (23.3%).
The gap was even worse in math, with white students achieving a 37% proficiency rate, nearly five times higher than Black students (7.9%) and over twice higher than Hispanic students (14.4%).
| School | Students who did not meet standards (%) | Total students tested |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Crest Elementary School | 87% | 115 |
| Riddle Elementary School | 81.9% | 324 |
| Jefferson Elementary School | 79.8% | 519 |
| Carl Sandburg Elementary School | 75.5% | 167 |
| Ashmore Elementary School | 71.9% | 32 |
| Mattoon Middle School | 69.6% | 616 |
| Arland D. Williams Junior Elementary School | 65.8% | 307 |
| Charleston Middle School | 60.6% | 393 |
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