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Lake County Gazette

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

74.3% of LaSalle County students failed their 2023-24 English exam; Scores fell 0.7% from previous year

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La Salle-Peru Township High School Principal Mrs. Ingrid Cushing (2023) | La Salle-Peru Township High School

La Salle-Peru Township High School Principal Mrs. Ingrid Cushing (2023) | La Salle-Peru Township High School

More than 7 in 10 LaSalle 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 Lake County Gazette of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 74.3% of LaSalle County's 996 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.

Earlville Junior/Senior High School (88.3%), Leland High School (80%) and Streator Township High School (79.4%) had the highest failure rates in LaSalle County in the 2023-24 school year. Meanwhile, Ottawa Township High School had the lowest (71.8%) and Seneca High School (66%).

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 75% in the 2022-23 school year to 74.3% in the 2023-24 school year.

The failure rate rose in three LaSalle County high schools in the 2023-24 school year, with the most significant increase happening at Earlville Junior/Senior High School, where the failure rate rose by 10.6%, reaching 88.3% overall.

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%.

Streator Township High School, Mendota Township High School, Ottawa Township High School, and Seneca High School were the LaSalle County high schools to see 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 LaSalle County High Schools in the 2023-24 School Year
High SchoolStudent CountFailure Rate in 2022-23 School YearFailure Rate in 2023-24 School Year
Earlville Junior/Senior High School1777.7%88.3%
Leland High School2076.5%80%
Streator Township High School18085.4%79.4%
Mendota Township High School11377.9%76.9%
La Salle-Peru Township High School28167.2%74%
Ottawa Township High School29475.3%71.8%
Seneca High School9171.6%66%

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