Statistics for the 2024 Illinois Report Card for schools has been released and high school graduation rates for Illinois Seniors have kept with little variance at 87 percent since 2017 despite a steady 10% decline in overall proficiency scores for the sample period and that appears to be the same scenario here in Wayne County area schools. Despite the lower averages for both subjects in Illinois, only three schools in each category of the 11 sampled in our area met or exceeded the state’s proficiency average. An outstanding 43.8 percent of Wayne City High School students met or exceeded the state’s math average, a score that was 13 percent over the second highest, coming from Carmi White County High School. Fairfield High School did not fare so well in math, scoring 15.9 percent points lower than it did the previous year, having 10% of students who met or exceeded the state’s 26.1 average. Only one other school scored lower at 4.8 percent in Math, a score that came from Hamilton County High School. The same school also came last in English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency, though all schools sampled scored below the Illinois average.
Of the 11 compared, it was Mount Carmel High School that received a “Targeted School” rating, rather than a “Commendable,” from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), as the others did.
Illinois State Board of Education says chronic absenteeism is down to 26.3 percent, a 3.6 percent drop from the 2021-22 COVID number. Most schools in our area scored below the state average, a contributing factor accounting our high attendance rate. Despite high attendance in our schools, the lower scores in and around Wayne County suggests learning material may not only be about showing up.
In general, SAT scores for Illinois students who met or exceeded the state’s proficiency for English Language Arts averaged 39.8 percent in 2017, and has since dropped to 31.4 today. Though math scores are typically lower than for English, the Illinois average in math dropped 10.3 percent for 2024. The public may access the 2024 Illinois Report Card by going online.
Comments