South Central Reporter

Nearly 5 in 10 Marion 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, 47.4% of Marion County's 2,611 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.

South Central Middle School (72%), Kell Grade School (62.9%) and Patoka Junior High School (62.2%) had the highest failure rates in Marion County. Meanwhile, Iuka Community Consolidated School (33.1%) and Franklin Park Middle School (32.5%) had the lowest.

Of 16 Marion County high schools, seven, including Selmaville Elementary School, Central City Elementary School, and Jordan Elementary School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates rose from 47.3% in 2021 to 47.4% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in eight Marion County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Patoka Junior High School (62.2%).

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%).

Patoka Elementary School, Central City Elementary School, and Franklin Park Middle School were the Marion 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
South Central Middle School	139	55.3%	59.4%	72%
Kell Grade School	54	73.9%	62.2%	62.9%
Patoka Junior High School	45	47.2%	45.9%	62.2%
Sandoval Elementary School	90	45%	48.4%	61.1%
Odin Attendance Center K-8	93	56.5%	57.7%	59.1%
Patoka Elementary School	45	66.7%	64.5%	53.3%
South Central Elementary-Kinmundy School	141	57.8%	50.8%	53.2%
Centralia Junior High School	585	46.6%	53.9%	52.3%
Sandoval Junior High School	95	46.8%	43.3%	50.6%
Selmaville Elementary School	153	41.7%	51.6%	48.4%
Central City Elementary School	204	50.8%	48.8%	45.1%
Jordan Elementary School	101	38.1%	43%	43.6%
Hawthorn Elementary School	106	43.5%	44.1%	43.4%
Raccoon Consolidated Elementary School	138	47.6%	50.7%	38.4%
Iuka Community Consolidated School	148	33.6%	39.2%	33.1%
Franklin Park Middle School	474	43.3%	36.2%	32.5%