Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com
Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com
The students' overall failure rate in the subject in Douglas County rose by 8.3% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Arcola High School | 83% | 100 |
| Arcola Elementary School | 82.7% | 179 |
| Villa Grove Junior High School | 81.4% | 102 |
| North Ward Elementary School | 71.9% | 114 |
| East Prairie Middle School | 71.7% | 269 |
| Arthur Grade School | 71.1% | 163 |
| Villa Grove Elementary School | 69.5% | 154 |
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