79.3% of Pike County students not ready for college based on English performance in on 2023-24 SAT

Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

By West Central Reporter

Dec 23, 2024

Nearly 8 in 10 Pike 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, 79.3% of Pike County's 164 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.

Griggsville-Perry High School had the highest failure rates in Pike County in the 2023-24 school year (95.7%). Meanwhile, Pleasant Hill High School had the lowest (73.1%).

Countywide, English test failure rates rose from 78.3% in the 2022-23 school year to 79.3% in the 2023-24 school year.

The failure rate rose in two Pike County high schools in the 2023-24 school year, with the most significant increase happening at Western High School, where the failure rate rose by 25.5%, reaching 84.7% 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%.

Pittsfield High School and Pleasant Hill High School were the Pike 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 Pike County High Schools in the 2023-24 School Year