That's according to a Kankakee Times analysis of 2022 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that last year, 82.5 percent of Iroquois County's 286 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.
Donovan Senior High School (100 percent), Iroquois West High School (86.3 percent), and Central High School (85.3 percent) had the highest failure rates in Iroquois County. Watseka Community High School (78.2 percent) and Milford High School Campus (72.3 percent) had the lowest.
No Iroquois County high schools had a passing rate of more than 50 percent of students.
County-wide, Math test failure rates rose from 76.5 percent in 2019 to 82.5 percent in 2022.
The failure rate increased at six Iroquois County high schools in 2022, with the most significant increase happening at Central High School (85.3 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).
No Iroquois County high schools saw 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donovan Senior High School | 16 | 87.5% | 93.8% | 100% |
| Iroquois West High School | 80 | 83.3% | 86.9% | 86.3% |
| Central High School | 68 | 70.3% | 89.4% | 85.3% |
| Cissna Park Senior High School | 20 | 73.7% | 91.7% | 80% |
| Watseka Community High School | 55 | 74.6% | 81.7% | 78.2% |
| Milford High School Campus | 47 | 71.5% | 69.4% | 72.3% |
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