NW Illinois News

IAR results are in and 69.5% of Stephenson County students failed the ELA portion of the test in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

The students' overall failure rate in the subject in Stephenson County rose by 4.1% compared to the previous school year.

In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 87.3% of students failing to meet test requirements.

At the other end of the spectrum, Woodford County had the highest success rate across the state, with 60.7% of its students passing the ELA portion of the IAR.

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) measures how well students in grades 3-8 are progressing toward state standards in English language arts and mathematics.

Recent IAR data shows that while Illinois students improved slightly in the test, math performance remains below pre-pandemic levels. In 2024, 28.4% of students met math benchmarks, compared to 31.8% in 2019. However, data also indicates a significant achievement gap based on race and ethnicity. 

The disparities were even more pronounced in math. White students achieved a proficiency rate of 38.7%, while Black students achieved 9.1% and Hispanic students 15.6%. Asian students achieved the highest proficiency rates in both subjects, hitting 68.2% in ELA and 61.4% in math.

School	Students who did not meet standards (%)	Total students tested
Empire Elementary School	91%	111
Black Hawk Elementary School	87.7%	90
Carl Sandburg Middle School	82.7%	415
Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School	82.6%	98
Freeport Middle School	79.8%	464
Jones-Farrar, an International Baccalaureate World School	75.6%	176
Orangeville Elementary School	71.4%	63
Center Elementary School	67.3%	98
Dakota Elementary School	64%	214
Pearl City Elementary School	61.6%	99
Dakota Junior Senior High School	56.4%	101
Pearl City Junior High School	50%	76
Lena-Winslow Elementary School	49.8%	173
Orangeville Junior High School	44.8%	67
Lena-Winslow Junior High School	30.2%	169