Southern Illinois News

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

That's according to an analysis from Southern Illinois News of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 98.4% of Pulaski County's 61 public high school students—approximately 60 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 Pulaski County schools, Century Junior/Senior High School (100%) had the highest failure rate in the county, and Meridian High School had the lowest (97.1%).

Countywide, math test failure rates fell from 100% in the 2022-23 school year to 98.4% in the 2023-24 school year.

Statewide, failure rates were highest in Bureau County, Christian County, Gallatin County, Schuyler County, and Hamilton County, where the percentage of students who failed the math exam were 82.4%, 91.6%, 93.4%, 93.6%, and 95.2%, respectively.

Meridian High School were the only Pulaski County high schools that saw math scores improve between the 2022-23 school year and the 2023-24 school year.

Data shows that 73.7% of Illinois students failed the 2023-24 school year state math exam, up from 73% in the 2022-23 school year.

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	Student Count	Failure Rate in 2022-23	Failure Rate in 2023-24
Century Junior/Senior High School	26	100%	100%
Meridian High School	35	100%	97.1%