NW Illinois News

Nearly 5 in 10 Whiteside 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, 49.7% of Whiteside County's 3,500 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.

Tampico Elementary School (62.9%), Fulton Elementary School (59.3%) and Montmorency School (58%) had the highest failure rates in Whiteside County. Meanwhile, Rock Falls Middle School (32.7%) and Erie Middle School (31.8%) had the lowest.

Of 16 Whiteside County high schools, six, including Morrison Junior High School, Erie Elementary School, and Southside School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 55.8% in 2021 to 49.7% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in seven Whiteside County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Tampico Elementary School (62.9%).

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%).

River Bend Middle School, Challand Middle School, Washington Elementary School, Erie Elementary School, and Rock Falls Middle School were the Whiteside 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
Tampico Elementary School	113	55.7%	54.5%	62.9%
Fulton Elementary School	199	61.2%	51%	59.3%
Montmorency School	136	59.4%	60%	58%
Lincoln Elementary School	338	53.5%	52.7%	56%
River Bend Middle School	214	61.4%	59%	55.6%
Challand Middle School	687	59.3%	56.6%	54.7%
Washington Elementary School	339	54.4%	53.2%	52.8%
East Coloma - Nelson Elementary School	147	63%	64%	52.4%
Merrill Elementary School	241	50.5%	47.5%	50.2%
Prophetstown Elementary School	28	41.5%	44.8%	50%
Morrison Junior High School	215	56.8%	61.4%	47.5%
Erie Elementary School	80	53.1%	51.4%	41.3%
Southside School	214	53.9%	35%	38.4%
Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Middle School	156	49.7%	31.4%	32.7%
Rock Falls Middle School	226	58.2%	51.8%	32.7%
Erie Middle School	167	45.7%	55.8%	31.8%