Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website
Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website
The students' overall failure rate in the subject in Coles County rose by 4.9% compared to the previous school year.
In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 97.1% of students failing to meet test requirements.
At the other end of the spectrum, Monroe County had the highest success rate across the state, with 50% of its students passing the mathematics portion of the IAR.
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) measures how well students in grades 3-8 are progressing toward state standards in English language arts and mathematics.
Recent IAR data shows that while Illinois students improved slightly in the test, math performance remains below pre-pandemic levels. In 2024, 28.4% of students met math benchmarks, compared to 31.8% in 2019. However, data also indicates a significant achievement gap based on race and ethnicity.
The disparities were even more pronounced in math. White students achieved a proficiency rate of 38.7%, while Black students achieved 9.1% and Hispanic students 15.6%. Asian students achieved the highest proficiency rates in both subjects, hitting 68.2% in ELA and 61.4% in math.
| School | Students who did not meet standards (%) | Total students tested |
|---|---|---|
| Ashmore Elementary School | 96.5% | 28 |
| Jefferson Elementary School | 89.7% | 528 |
| Lake Crest Elementary School | 86.7% | 112 |
| Charleston Middle School | 83.9% | 374 |
| Riddle Elementary School | 82.1% | 279 |
| Mattoon Middle School | 79.7% | 602 |
| Arland D. Williams Junior Elementary School | 75.8% | 335 |
| Carl Sandburg Elementary School | 65.2% | 181 |
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