That's according to a Southern Illinois News analysis of 2022 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that last year, 81.2 percent of Johnson County's 101 public high school students failed the Math portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and have “minimal (or) incomplete… understanding of the knowledge and skills relative to Illinois Learning Standards.”
Students can achieve four proficiencies in their subjects (partially met, approaching, meets, and exceeds standards). This report concludes students who partially met or approached the standards have failed in the subject.
Out of the two Johnson County schools, Vienna High School (85 percent) had the highest failure rate in the county. Goreville High School (73.5 percent) had the lowest.
No Johnson County high schools had a passing rate of more than 50 percent of students.
County-wide, Math test failure rates in 2022 remained the same from 2019 with 81.2 percent.
The failure rate increased at Vienna High School in 2022, from 82 percent to 85 percent.
Failure rates rose the most in Coles County (82.7 percent), Mercer County (83.5 percent), Pope County (89.8 percent), Union County (91.3 percent), and Henderson County (92.2 percent).
Goreville High School were the only Johnson County high schools to see Math scores improve between 2019 and 2022.
Statewide, 70 percent of Illinois students failed the 2022 state Math exam, up from 64 percent in 2019.
The SAT test is administered to Illinois high school sophomores “to fulfill the requirement that students take an assessment for college and career readiness in order to receive a regular high school diploma.”
| High School | # of Students | Failing % in 2019 | Failing % in 2021 | Failing % in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna High School | 67 | 82% | 88.4% | 85% |
| Goreville High School | 34 | 79.5% | 75% | 73.5% |
Alerts Sign-up