West Central Reporter

Test results show 31.3% of Morgan County students passed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

The number of Morgan County students who succeeded rose by 30.7% compared to the previous school year.

Woodford County had the highest success rate across the state, with 60.7% of its students passing the ELA portion of the IAR. Schools in Alexander County, on the other hand, performed the worst, with 87.3% of students failing to meet test requirements.

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.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school funding formula.

School	Students who met standards (%)	Students who exceed standards (%)	Total enrollment
Triopia Grade School	62.4%	1%	203
Franklin Elementary School	46.7%	5%	62
Murrayville-Woodson Elementary School	39.1%	0%	117
Eisenhower Elementary School	35.5%	0.6%	306
Jacksonville Middle School	33.3%	1.9%	632
Triopia Junior-Senior High School	31.1%	0%	183
Waverly Junior and Senior High School	28.9%	0%	128
Lincoln Elementary School	23.5%	0%	249
Franklin Junior/Senior High School	23.4%	0%	138
South Jacksonville Elementary School	21.5%	0%	289
Washington Elementary School	21.1%	3.3%	271
North Jacksonville School	18.7%	0%	157
Waverly Elementary School	14.7%	0.9%	207
Meredosia-Chambersburg Elementary School	14%	0%	113
Meredosia-Chambersburg Junior High School	12.5%	0%	53

Information in this story was obtained from the Illinois State Board of Education. The source data can be found here.