North Mac High School Principal Molly Edmonds (2023) | North Mac High School
North Mac High School Principal Molly Edmonds (2023) | North Mac High School
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, 80.7% of Macoupin County's 493 public high school students—approximately 397 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.
Gillespie High School (88.1%), Northwestern High School (86.7%), and North Mac High School (85.1%) had the highest failure rate in Macoupin County, and Carlinville High School (71.6%) and Mt. Olive High School (71.5%) had the lowest.
No high school in Macoupin County had a student passing rate exceeding 50%.
Countywide, math test failure rates fell from 81.9% in the 2022-23 school year to 80.7% in the 2023-24 school year.
Failure rates increased at three Macoupin County high schools in the 2023-24 school year, with the most significant increase happening at Staunton High School, where the rate jumped from 75.3% to 81.9%.
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.
Mt. Olive High School and Northwestern High School were the only Macoupin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gillespie High School | 76 | 86.2% | 88.1% |
| Northwestern High School | 15 | 100% | 86.7% |
| North Mac High School | 94 | 88% | 85.1% |
| Staunton High School | 94 | 75.3% | 81.9% |
| Southwestern High School | 91 | 85.9% | 80.2% |
| Carlinville High School | 88 | 68% | 71.6% |
| Mt. Olive High School | 35 | 94.1% | 71.5% |
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