NW Illinois News

IAR results are in and 72.4% of Whiteside County students failed the mathematics 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 Whiteside County rose by 2.3% compared to the previous school year.

In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 97.1% of students failing to meet test requirements.

At the other end of the spectrum, Monroe County had the highest success rate across the state, with 50% of its students passing the mathematics 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
Challand Middle School	80.9%	706
East Coloma - Nelson Elementary School	79.4%	145
Merrill Elementary School	76.5%	242
Fulton Elementary School	74.7%	190
Tampico Elementary School	74.4%	98
Lincoln Elementary School	73.4%	297
River Bend Middle School	72.9%	229
Morrison Junior High School	72.6%	208
Rock Falls Middle School	71.7%	237
Washington Elementary School	71%	373
Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Middle School	69%	158
Prophetstown Elementary School	67.5%	37
Montmorency School	62.1%	129
Southside School	61.3%	212
Erie Middle School	60.7%	163
Erie Elementary School	42.6%	75