Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website
Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website
These students did not meet the required standards of the math portion of the IAR compared to the 29.4% who did.
The total number Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A students who failed their math assessments grew by 6.4% from the previous school year.
Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A roughly covers 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 did not meet met standards (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Cowden-Herrick Junior/Senior High School | Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A | 81.5% |
| Cowden-Herrick Grade School | Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A | 61.5% |
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