Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com
Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com
The students' overall failure rate in the subject in Johnson County rose by 4.3% compared to the previous school year.
In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 87.3% of students failing to meet test requirements.
At the other end of the spectrum, Woodford County had the highest success rate across the state, with 60.7% of its students passing the ELA portion of the IAR.
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 | Students who did not meet standards (%) | Total students tested |
|---|---|---|
| Buncombe Consolidated School | 90% | 40 |
| Cypress Elementary School | 82.3% | 62 |
| Goreville Elementary School | 68.9% | 273 |
| New Simpson Hill School District 32 | 51.9% | 131 |
| Vienna Elementary School District 55 | 43.6% | 225 |
Alerts Sign-up