How many students failed their English exams in Fayette County in 2023-24 school year?

Jason Helfer Chief Education Officer - Instruction | Twitter

By South Central Reporter

Dec 19, 2024

Nearly 8 in 10 Fayette County public students aren't at grade level based on their performance in the English portion of the 2023-24 SAT.

That's according to an analysis from South Central Reporter of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 78.4% of Fayette County's 199 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.

St. Elmo Senior High School had the highest failure rates in Fayette County in the 2023-24 school year (91.2%). Meanwhile, Vandalia Community High School had the lowest (71.6%).

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 81.9% in the 2022-23 school year to 78.4% in the 2023-24 school year.

The failure rate rose in two Fayette County high schools in the 2023-24 school year, with the most significant increase happening at St. Elmo Senior High School, where the failure rate rose by 24.6%, reaching 91.2% overall.

Data shows that the largest growth in failure rates occurred in Vermilion County, which increased by 20.8% to 89.7%; Clark County, which grew by 22% to 89.3%; Kendall County, which increased by 24.1% to 89.4%; Fayette County, which grew by 24.6% to 91.2%; and Shelby County, which increased by 27.3% to 92.3%.

South Central High School and Vandalia Community High School were the Fayette County high schools to see improvements between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

Statewide, 67.7% of Illinois students failed the 2023-24 school year state English exam, down from 68.4% in the 2022-23 school year.

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."

ELA Failure Rates in Fayette County High Schools in the 2023-24 School Year