East Central Reporter

In the 2023-24 school year, 68.5% of the students in Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A passed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 143 students in Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A who took the ELA portion of the test, approximately 98 (68.5%) passed.

The percentage of Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A students who met or exceeded expectations on the IAR decreased by 1.9% compared to the previous school year.

Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A roughly covers two schools within Shelby County and has a main office in Cowden.

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	District	Students who met standards (%)	Students who exceed standards (%)
Cowden-Herrick Grade School	Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A	52.6%	12.8%
Cowden-Herrick Junior/Senior High School	Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A	49.2%	23.1%