Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website
Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website
That's according to a Macon Reporter analysis of 2023 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that last year, 94% of Macon County's 315 public high school students — approximately 296 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.
Out of the two Macon County schools, MacArthur High School (95.3%) had the highest failure rate in the county. Warrensburg-Latham High School (89.1%) had the lowest.
Countywide, math test failure rates rose from 67.3% in 2021 to 94% in 2023.
Failure rates increased at in 2023, from % to %.
Statewide, failure rates increased the most in Wayne County, Greene County, Sangamon County, Pike County, and Pulaski County, where the percentage of students who failed the math exam rose to 74.1%, 86.4%, 95.6%, 96.7%, and 100%, respectively.
No Macon County high schools saw math scores improve between 2021 and 2023.
Statewide, 75.6% of Illinois students failed the 2023 state math exam, up from 64% in 2021.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacArthur High School | 251 | 94.1% | 94.4% | 95.3% |
| Warrensburg-Latham High School | 64 | 64.9% | 61.4% | 89.1% |
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