Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com
Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com
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, 85.4% of Fayette County's 199 public high school students—approximately 169 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.
St. Elmo Senior High School had the highest failure rate in Fayette County (97.1%), and South Central High School had the lowest (78.9%).
No high school in Fayette County had a student passing rate exceeding 50%.
Countywide, math test failure rates fell from 91.5% in the 2022-23 school year to 85.4% in the 2023-24 school year.
St. Elmo Senior High School was the only Fayette County high school to experience an increase in failure rates in the 2023-24 school year, reaching 97.1%.
Statewide, failure rates were highest in Bureau County, Christian County, Gallatin County, Schuyler County, and Hamilton County, where the percentage of students who failed the math exam were 82.4%, 91.6%, 93.4%, 93.6%, and 95.2%, respectively.
Brownstown High School and South Central High School were the only Fayette County high schools that saw math scores improve between the 2022-23 school year and the 2023-24 school year.
Data shows that 73.7% of Illinois students failed the 2023-24 school year state math exam, up from 73% 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.”
| High School | Student Count | Failure Rate in 2022-23 | Failure Rate in 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Elmo Senior High School | 34 | 89.7% | 97.1% |
| Brownstown High School | 25 | 100% | 88% |
| Vandalia Community High School | 88 | 90.6% | 84.1% |
| South Central High School | 52 | 90% | 78.9% |
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