That's according to a Lake County Gazette analysis of 2022 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that last year, 59.4 percent of Lake County's 9,639 public high school 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.
North Chicago Community High School (94.4 percent), Waukegan High School (92.9 percent), and New Tech High - Zion-Benton East (92.5 percent) had the highest failure rates in Lake County. Deerfield High School (29.9 percent) and Adlai E. Stevenson High School (23 percent) had the lowest.
Of 21 Lake County high schools, only eight schools -- Highland Park High School, Barrington High School, Lake Zurich High School, Vernon Hills High School, Libertyville High School, Lake Forest High School, Deerfield High School, and Adlai E. Stevenson High School had passing rates of more than 50 percent.
County-wide, Math test failure rates rose from 52.4 percent in 2019 to 59.4 percent in 2022.
The failure rate increased at 20 Lake County high schools in 2022, with the most significant increase happening at Vernon Hills High School (40.9 percent).
Failure rates rose the most in Coles County (82.7 percent), Mercer County (83.5 percent), Pope County (89.8 percent), Union County (91.3 percent), and Henderson County (92.2 percent).
No Lake County high schools saw Math scores improve between 2019 and 2022.
Statewide, 70 percent of Illinois students failed the 2022 state Math exam, up from 64 percent 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 2019 | Failing % in 2021 | Failing % in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Chicago Community High School | 180 | 89% | 96.2% | 94.4% |
| Waukegan High School | 937 | 85.8% | 94.7% | 92.9% |
| New Tech High - Zion-Benton East | 79 | 84.3% | 93.3% | 92.5% |
| Round Lake Senior High School | 521 | 88.8% | 91.2% | 91% |
| Zion-Benton Township High School | 451 | 84.6% | 90.5% | 88.4% |
| Wauconda High School | 300 | 68% | 74.5% | 74% |
| Grant Community High School | 428 | 68.5% | 76.7% | 71.9% |
| Mundelein Consolidated High School | 484 | 60.8% | 72.6% | 68.8% |
| Warren Township High School | 883 | 57.7% | 65.6% | 68.4% |
| Antioch Community High School | 299 | 60.4% | 67.9% | 67.2% |
| Lakes Community High School | 270 | 51.6% | 59.5% | 67% |
| Grayslake Central High School | 342 | 50.9% | 56.1% | 61.7% |
| Grayslake North High School | 302 | 54.4% | 63.7% | 59% |
| Highland Park High School | 424 | 37.7% | 46.4% | 48.1% |
| Barrington High School | 699 | 33.5% | 36.1% | 44.5% |
| Lake Zurich High School | 420 | 38.7% | 45.6% | 43.1% |
| Vernon Hills High School | 367 | 26% | 35.6% | 40.9% |
| Libertyville High School | 448 | 27.4% | 40.9% | 38.1% |
| Lake Forest High School | 360 | 24.6% | 33.2% | 34.2% |
| Deerfield High School | 367 | 25.6% | 33.4% | 29.9% |
| Adlai E. Stevenson High School | 1,078 | 23.3% | 27.6% | 23% |
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