NW Illinois News

Nearly 5 in 10 Stephenson 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, 46.3% of Stephenson County's 2,382 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.

Jones-Farrar, an International Baccalaureate World School (58.8%), Dakota Elementary School (57.3%) and Carl Sandburg Middle School (54%) had the highest failure rates in Stephenson County. Meanwhile, Center Elementary School (24.7%) and Lena-Winslow Junior High School (21.3%) had the lowest.

Of 15 Stephenson County high schools, 11, including Freeport Middle School, Lena-Winslow Elementary School, and Pearl City Elementary School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates rose from 45.9% in 2021 to 46.3% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in nine Stephenson County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Orangeville Junior High School (51.3%).

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%).

Pearl City Elementary School, Pearl City Junior High School, Black Hawk Elementary School, Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School, and Center Elementary School were the Stephenson County high schools 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
Jones-Farrar, an International Baccalaureate World School	170	49.2%	53.2%	58.8%
Dakota Elementary School	213	64.2%	53.8%	57.3%
Carl Sandburg Middle School	389	51.9%	48.5%	54%
Orangeville Junior High School	74	31.7%	33.8%	51.3%
Freeport Middle School	470	41.9%	50.4%	47.7%
Lena-Winslow Elementary School	161	48.4%	46.5%	47.2%
Pearl City Elementary School	106	50%	49.6%	46.2%
Dakota Junior Senior High School	107	35.1%	36.5%	45.8%
Orangeville Elementary School	59	49.1%	43.4%	45.7%
Empire Elementary School	118	36.1%	36.6%	44.9%
Pearl City Junior High School	78	56.3%	45.2%	41%
Black Hawk Elementary School	111	52%	39.3%	37.8%
Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School	81	50.9%	43%	32.1%
Center Elementary School	81	41.7%	29.5%	24.7%
Lena-Winslow Junior High School	164	25.2%	21.2%	21.3%