Sarah Hasken Principal at Freeport High School | Official Website
Sarah Hasken Principal at Freeport High School | Official Website
That's according to an analysis from NW Illinois News of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 77.7% of Stephenson County's 443 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.
Freeport High School had the highest failure rates in Stephenson County in the 2023-24 school year (87.3%). Meanwhile, Pearl City High School had the lowest (52.2%).
Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 79.7% in the 2022-23 school year to 77.7% in the 2023-24 school year.
The failure rate rose in three Stephenson County high schools in the 2023-24 school year, with the most significant increase happening at Orangeville High School, where the failure rate rose by 7.4%, reaching 75.9% overall.
Data shows that the largest growth in failure rates occurred in Vermilion County, which increased by 20.8% to 89.7%; Clark County, which grew by 22% to 89.3%; Kendall County, which increased by 24.1% to 89.4%; Fayette County, which grew by 24.6% to 91.2%; and Shelby County, which increased by 27.3% to 92.3%.
Dakota Junior Senior High School and Pearl City High School were the Stephenson County high schools to see improvements between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
Statewide, 67.7% of Illinois students failed the 2023-24 school year state English exam, down from 68.4% in the 2022-23 school year.
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 | Student Count | Failure Rate in 2022-23 School Year | Failure Rate in 2023-24 School Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freeport High School | 252 | 87% | 87.3% |
| Orangeville High School | 29 | 68.5% | 75.9% |
| Lena-Winslow High School | 56 | 65.6% | 69.6% |
| Dakota Junior Senior High School | 62 | 73.6% | 64.5% |
| Pearl City High School | 44 | 62.9% | 52.2% |
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