East Central Reporter

In the 2023-24 school year, 37.9% of the students in Mattoon Community Unit School District 2 passed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 1,216 students in Mattoon Community Unit School District 2 who took the ELA portion of the test, approximately 461 (37.9%) passed.

The percentage of Mattoon Community Unit School District 2 students who met or exceeded expectations on the IAR increased by 7.2% compared to the previous school year.

Mattoon Community Unit School District 2 roughly covers four schools within Coles County and has a main office in Mattoon.

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 (%)
Mattoon Middle School	Mattoon Community Unit School District 2	37%	5.3%
Arland D. Williams Junior Elementary School	Mattoon Community Unit School District 2	34.6%	3.9%
Riddle Elementary School	Mattoon Community Unit School District 2	24.4%	2.9%