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, 58.3 percent of Lake County's 9,651 public high school students failed the English language arts 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.
Waukegan High School (92.9 percent), North Chicago Community High School (91.8 percent) and Round Lake Senior High School (88.9 percent) had the highest failure rates in Lake County. Deerfield High School (31.8 percent) and Adlai E. Stevenson High School (26.8 percent) had the lowest.
Of 21 Lake County high schools, only eight -- Barrington High School, Vernon Hills High School, Highland Park High School, Lake Zurich High School, Lake Forest High School, Libertyville High School, Deerfield High School, Adlai E. Stevenson High School had passing rates of more than 50 percent.
County-wide, English test failure rates rose from 50.3 percent in 2019 to 58.3 percent in 2022.
The failure rate increased at 13 Lake County high schools in 2022, with the most significant increase happening at Warren Township High School (66.7 percent).
Failure rates rose the most at Cook County (100 percent), Marion County (100 percent), Peoria County (100 percent), Scott County (100 percent), Tazewell County (100 percent).
Statewide, 69.1 percent of Illinois students failed the 2022 state English 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waukegan High School | 940 | 84.2% | 94% | 92.9% |
| North Chicago Community High School | 182 | 83.9% | 91.6% | 91.8% |
| Round Lake Senior High School | 522 | 84.2% | 87.1% | 88.9% |
| New Tech High - Zion-Benton East | 79 | 71.4% | 85.3% | 88.6% |
| Zion-Benton Township High School | 452 | 77% | 83.8% | 85.9% |
| Grant Community High School | 428 | 66.1% | 73.1% | 75.9% |
| Antioch Community High School | 298 | 62.1% | 62.6% | 66.7% |
| Warren Township High School | 883 | 52.4% | 56.1% | 66.7% |
| Wauconda High School | 300 | 57.1% | 67.4% | 65.3% |
| Mundelein Consolidated High School | 486 | 60.1% | 65.7% | 65.2% |
| Lakes Community High School | 271 | 49.7% | 56.7% | 63.5% |
| Grayslake North High School | 303 | 49.9% | 58.1% | 55.4% |
| Grayslake Central High School | 342 | 42.8% | 53.3% | 52.4% |
| Barrington High School | 698 | 36% | 39.2% | 44.7% |
| Vernon Hills High School | 367 | 31.1% | 33.5% | 43.8% |
| Highland Park High School | 425 | 37.5% | 42.5% | 42.4% |
| Lake Zurich High School | 421 | 39.4% | 40.9% | 39.7% |
| Lake Forest High School | 360 | 18.3% | 31.5% | 37.8% |
| Libertyville High School | 448 | 26.1% | 36.9% | 34.9% |
| Deerfield High School | 368 | 22.6% | 30.6% | 31.8% |
| Adlai E. Stevenson High School | 1078 | 25.1% | 26.1% | 26.8% |
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