Southern Illinois News

Nearly 10 in 10 Alexander County public high school students aren't at grade level in math.

That's according to a Southern Illinois News analysis of 2023 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 98% of Alexander County's 50 public high school students — approximately 49 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 Alexander County schools, Cairo Junior/Senior High School (100%) had the highest failure rate in the county. Egyptian Senior High School (96%) had the lowest.

Countywide, math test failure rates fell from 98.8% in 2021 to 98% in 2023.

Cairo Junior/Senior High School was the only Alexander County high school to experience an increase in failure rates in 2023, reaching 100%.

Statewide, failure rates increased the most in Wayne County, Greene County, Sangamon County, Pike County, and Pulaski County, where the percentage of students who failed the math exam rose to 74.1%, 86.4%, 95.6%, 96.7%, and 100%, respectively.

No Alexander County high schools saw math scores improve between 2021 and 2023.

Statewide, 75.6% of Illinois students failed the 2023 state math exam, up from 64% in 2021.

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 2021	Failing % in 2022	Failing % in 2023
Cairo Junior/Senior High School	25	99.2%	98.5%	100%
Egyptian Senior High School	25	96%	100%	96%