East Central Reporter

Nearly 5 in 10 Richland County public students aren't at grade level based on their performance in the English portion of the 2023 SAT.

That's according to a East Central Reporter analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 46.5% of Richland County's 908 public high school students failed the ELA portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and have "minimal (or) incomplete… understanding of the knowledge and skills relative to Illinois Learning Standards."

Students can achieve four proficiencies in their subjects (partially met, approaching, meets, and exceeds standards). This report concludes students who partially met or approached the standards have failed in the subject.

Of two Richland County schools, Richland County Elementary School (49.8%) had the highest failure rate in the county. Meanwhile, Richland County Middle School (43.1%) had the lowest.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 50.6% in 2021 to 46.5% in 2023.

The failure rate increased at one Richland County high school in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Richland County Elementary School (49.8%).

Data shows that the highest failure rates growths were seen in Christian County (72.5%), Hancock County (73.8%), Cook County (74.1%), White County (74.1%), and Morgan County (76.7%).

Richland County Middle School was the only high school in the county improvements between 2021 and 2023.

Statewide, 39.9% of Illinois students failed the 2023 state English exam, down from 64% in 2019.

The SAT test is administered to Illinois high school sophomores "to fulfill the requirement that students take an assessment for college and career readiness in order to receive a regular high school diploma."

High School	# of Students	Failing % in 2021	Failing % in 2022	Failing % in 2023
Richland County Elementary School	456	49.3%	46.9%	49.8%
Richland County Middle School	452	51.9%	49.4%	43.1%