Macon Reporter

More than 5 in 10 Moultrie County public students aren't at grade level based on their performance in the English portion of the 2023 SAT.

That's according to a Macon Reporter analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 50.2% of Moultrie County's 629 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.

Okaw Valley Elementary School (53.2%) had the highest failure rates in Moultrie County. Meanwhile, Sullivan Elementary School (47.4%) had the lowest.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 52.3% in 2021 to 50.2% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in three Moultrie County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Lovington Grade School (51.7%).

Data shows that the highest failure rates growths were seen in Christian County (72.5%), Hancock County (73.8%), Cook County (74.1%), White County (74.1%), and Morgan County (76.7%).

Sullivan Middle School was the only Moultrie County high school to see improvements between 2021 and 2023.

Statewide, 39.9% of Illinois students failed the 2023 state English exam, down from 64% 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 2021	Failing % in 2022	Failing % in 2023
Okaw Valley Elementary School	62	54.5%	50%	53.2%
Lovington Grade School	91	56.2%	48.2%	51.7%
Sullivan Middle School	322	55%	53.8%	50.6%
Sullivan Elementary School	154	44%	44.4%	47.4%