NW Illinois News

Nearly 5 in 10 Ogle 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 NW Illinois News analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 48.3% of Ogle County's 3,248 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.

Kings Elementary School (59.2%), Monroe Center Grade School (56.7%) and Rochelle Middle School (55%) had the highest failure rates in Ogle County. Meanwhile, Creston Elementary School (40.7%) and Byron Middle School (36.8%) had the lowest.

Of 15 Ogle County high schools, nine, including Forreston Junior/Senior High School, Eswood C.C. Grade School, and Aplington Middle School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 48.5% in 2021 to 48.3% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in eight Ogle County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Kings Elementary School (59.2%).

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%).

Oregon Elementary School was the only Ogle 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
Kings Elementary School	54	53.5%	47.3%	59.2%
Monroe Center Grade School	319	56%	57.8%	56.7%
Rochelle Middle School	462	54.4%	54.1%	55%
Tilton Elementary School	317	53.9%	54.6%	54%
Meridian Junior High School	302	44%	43.4%	52%
Centennial Elementary School	110	54%	45%	50%
Forreston Junior/Senior High School	179	45.8%	47.8%	46.9%
Eswood C.C. Grade School	47	43.9%	60.5%	46.8%
Aplington Middle School	116	39.2%	35%	44.8%
Oregon Elementary School	348	57%	49.9%	44.8%
Forreston Grade School	149	44.5%	38%	43.7%
Central Elementary School	128	47%	40.1%	43%
Mary Morgan Elementary School	318	44.1%	48.6%	42.5%
Creston Elementary School	54	50%	32.1%	40.7%
Byron Middle School	345	36.4%	43.8%	36.8%