South Central Reporter

More than 5 in 10 Macoupin 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, 50.5% of Macoupin County's 3,006 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.

Northwestern Elementary School (67.9%), Mt. Olive Elementary School (63.5%) and Gillespie Middle School (62.7%) had the highest failure rates in Macoupin County. Meanwhile, Medora Intermediate School (38.6%) and Carlinville Middle School (36%) had the lowest.

Of 16 Macoupin County high schools, seven, including Carlinville Intermediate School, Staunton Elementary School, and Ben-Gil Elementary School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 55.9% in 2021 to 50.5% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in five Macoupin County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Northwestern Elementary School (67.9%).

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%).

Wolf Ridge Education Center, Ben-Gil Elementary School, Staunton Junior High School, and Medora Intermediate School were the Macoupin 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
Northwestern Elementary School	84	60.5%	58.7%	67.9%
Mt. Olive Elementary School	211	62.5%	60.9%	63.5%
Gillespie Middle School	233	57.6%	59.9%	62.7%
North Mac Middle School	223	66.8%	60.4%	61.9%
Wolf Ridge Education Center	191	64.3%	63.2%	58.6%
Bunker Hill High School	45	51.2%	61.2%	57.8%
North Mac Intermediate School	214	56.2%	60.2%	54.2%
Southwestern Middle School	184	45.9%	58%	52.1%
Northwestern Junior High School	55	58.3%	71.8%	50.9%
Carlinville Intermediate School	258	47.3%	56.4%	47.3%
Staunton Elementary School	245	52%	44.8%	46.9%
Ben-Gil Elementary School	234	56.2%	50.4%	45.7%
Staunton Junior High School	243	53.1%	42.2%	40.4%
Shipman Elementary School	159	49.4%	50.6%	40.2%
Medora Intermediate School	171	56%	41.6%	38.6%
Carlinville Middle School	256	52.9%	55.5%	36%