Jason Helfer Chief Education Officer - Instruction | Twitter
Jason Helfer Chief Education Officer - Instruction | Twitter
That's according to an analysis from East Central Reporter of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 82.2% of Cumberland County's 118 public high school students—approximately 96 students—failed the math 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.
Out of the two Cumberland County schools, Cumberland High School had the highest failure rate in the county (87.3%), and Neoga Junior/Senior High School had the lowest (74.4%).
Countywide, math test failure rates fell from 82.4% in the 2022-23 school year to 82.2% in the 2023-24 school year.
Cumberland High School was the only Cumberland County high school to experience an increase in failure rates in the 2023-24 school year, reaching 87.3%.
Statewide, failure rates were highest in Bureau County, Christian County, Gallatin County, Schuyler County, and Hamilton County, where the percentage of students who failed the math exam were 82.4%, 91.6%, 93.4%, 93.6%, and 95.2%, respectively.
Neoga Junior/Senior High School were the only Cumberland County high schools that saw math scores improve between the 2022-23 school year and the 2023-24 school year.
Data shows that 73.7% of Illinois students failed the 2023-24 school year state math exam, up from 73% in the 2022-23 school year.
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 | Student Count | Failure Rate in 2022-23 | Failure Rate in 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland High School | 71 | 83.4% | 87.3% |
| Neoga Junior/Senior High School | 47 | 80.5% | 74.4% |
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