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

Coal City High School Principal Mr. Arthur Stafford (2023) | Coal City High School

By Grundy Reporter

Dec 16, 2024

More than 6 in 10 Grundy 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 Grundy Reporter of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 64.2% of Grundy County's 388 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.

Of three Grundy County schools, Gardner-South Wilmington High School (68.7%) had the highest failure rate in the county. Meanwhile, Morris Community High School (62.9%) had the lowest.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 70.5% in the 2022-23 school year to 64.2% in the 2023-24 school year.

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%.

All the high schools in the county saw 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 Grundy County High Schools in the 2023-24 School Year