70% of Hancock County students not ready for college based on English performance in on 2023-24 SAT

Southeastern Junior/Senior High School Principal Mr. Tim Kerr (2023) | Southeastern Junior/Senior High School

By West Central Reporter

Dec 20, 2024

7 in 10 Hancock County public students aren't at grade level based on their performance in the English portion of the 2023-24 SAT.

That's according to an analysis from West Central Reporter of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 70% of Hancock County's 210 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.

Illini West High School had the highest failure rates in Hancock County in the 2023-24 school year (73.5%). Meanwhile, Warsaw Senior High School had the lowest (65.7%).

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 79.6% in the 2022-23 school year to 70.0% in the 2023-24 school year.

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%.

Illini West High School, Southeastern Junior/Senior High School, Hamilton High School, and Warsaw Senior High School were the Hancock 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."

ELA Failure Rates in Hancock County High Schools in the 2023-24 School Year

High School	Student Count	Failure Rate in 2022-23 School Year	Failure Rate in 2023-24 School Year
Illini West High School	83	76.3%	73.5%
Southeastern Junior/Senior High School	36	86.2%	72.3%
Hamilton High School	27	84.1%	66.6%
Warsaw Senior High School	64	77.1%	65.7%