South Central Reporter

More than 4 in 10 Clinton County public students aren't at grade level based on their performance in the English portion of the 2023 SAT.

That's according to a South Central Reporter analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 40.8% of Clinton County's 2,257 public high school students failed the ELA 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.

North Wamac Grade School (58.5%), Willow Grove Elementary School (56.1%) and Trenton Elementary School (52.3%) had the highest failure rates in Clinton County. Meanwhile, Germantown Elementary School (32.6%) and Aviston Elementary School (28.3%) had the lowest.

Of 14 Clinton County high schools, 11, including Carlyle Junior High School, Damiansville Elementary School, and St. Rose Elementary School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 47.3% in 2021 to 40.8% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in six Clinton County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Trenton Elementary School (52.3%).

Data shows that the highest failure rates growths were seen in Christian County (72.5%), Hancock County (73.8%), Cook County (74.1%), White County (74.1%), and Morgan County (76.7%).

Willow Grove Elementary School, Carlyle Junior High School, Wesclin Middle School, and Breese Elementary School were the Clinton County high schools to see improvements between 2021 and 2023.

Statewide, 39.9% of Illinois students failed the 2023 state English exam, down from 64% 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 2021	Failing % in 2022	Failing % in 2023
North Wamac Grade School	77	55.5%	52.7%	58.5%
Willow Grove Elementary School	82	71.3%	61.8%	56.1%
Trenton Elementary School	42	47.7%	33.3%	52.3%
Carlyle Junior High School	290	57.9%	54.7%	49%
Damiansville Elementary School	54	50%	38.9%	44.4%
St. Rose Elementary School	92	51.8%	38%	42.4%
Carlyle Elementary School	144	40.9%	42.4%	41.7%
Wesclin Middle School	463	56.4%	54%	41.3%
New Baden Elementary School	59	36.7%	48%	40.6%
Breese Elementary School	364	47.9%	43.9%	39.6%
Albers Elementary School	97	35.9%	36.9%	34%
Bartelso Elementary School	111	27.5%	22.3%	33.3%
Germantown Elementary School	135	34.7%	24.7%	32.6%
Aviston Elementary School	247	26.2%	34.5%	28.3%